Researchers have uncovered evidence to suggest that the novel coronavirus may have originated from animals sold at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China. Analysis of genetic sequences taken from the market indicates that raccoon dogs may have been carrying and shedding the SARS-CoV-2 virus at the time. This new evidence adds to the ongoing debate over lab-leak versus natural origin theories, with proponents of lab-leak theory arguing that the virus' detection in Wuhan, near the Wuhan Institute of Virology, can't be a coincidence.
The World Health Organization has likely given credence to the animal transmission theory, pointing to bats or minks as possible reservoirs for the disease. Previous efforts have traced back to animal origins, like the MERS virus being linked to infected camels. Now a new report in the Atlantic suggests that the raccoon dog may have been the host of the virus that caused the coronavirus pandemic. ,
The genetic sequences were reportedly pulled out of swabs taken from stalls and near markets shortly after being shut down by Chinese authorities after the initial spread of the virus. Avirologist Seema Lakdawala of Emory University has said that the analysis strengthens the case for a natural origin. The analysis of genetic sequences has been led by Kristian Andersen, Edward Holmes and Michael Worobey. They found that “several surfaces in and around one stall at the market, including a cart and a defeatering machine, produced virus-positive samples that also contained genetic material from raccoon dog”.
This is the first time that the finger has been pointed at the fox-like animal as a possible host of the virus. A sample taken in early 2020 in the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China showed genetic traces of both coronavirus and a raccoon dog, according to scientists who analyzed newly obtained data from China. This data point bolsters the theory that the pandemic began through natural spillover from animals rather than emerging from a laboratory. ,
House Republicans are holding hearings on the origin of the pandemic and an updated report from the intelligence community revealed that the Energy Department shifted from a neutral stance to a conclusion, with “low confidence”, that a lab was most likely. Many of the first documented cases of human infection with the virus were clustered at and around the market and environmental samples showed the presence of the virus preferentially in the part of the market where animals were sold and butchered. ,
The findings of the analysis on genetic sequences have been met with derision by some politicians and pundits who believe the racoon dog hypothesis is nothing more than a distraction from the growing evidence that the virus leaked from a lab. Tracking the origins of a virus often takes years, but this new evidence suggests that the raccoon dog may have been the host of the virus that caused the pandemic. The emergence of this new theory follows a classified report from the US Department of Energy declaring that the virus behind COVID-19 likely leaked from a Chinese laboratory.