World Health Organization experts say bats are the source of the coronavirus

Experts from the World Health Organization have said that bats are “very likely” to be the source of the coronavirus. They say it is not possible to prove that the coronavirus spread from a live animal market in Wuhan, China.

The World Health Organization experts, along with their Chinese colleagues, estimate that the coronavirus most likely spread from bats to some kind of intermediary animal and was then transmitted to humans.

This hypothesis has been popular among experts since the beginning of the pandemic, and now it has been confirmed in some way. They believe that more research needs to be done for more accurate results.

These experts believe it is highly unlikely that the virus emerged from a laboratory, a view that former US President Donald Trump has espoused, largely for political reasons.

Knowledge in the Field of Diplomatic Competition

World Health Organization experts traveled to Wuhan, China, earlier this year.

The international community feared that China would somehow influence the outcome of the investigation. Naturally, the country did not want to be held responsible for the spread of the deadly coronavirus around the world.

After Joe Biden was elected president of the United States, concerns remained that the World Health Organization would refrain from publishing all information and research findings.

On the other hand, China emphasized that the WHO's mission was only possible thanks to the scientific cooperation of the People's Republic.

Four possible scenarios

Experts considered four scenarios, in order of importance, and ultimately concluded that transmission of the virus from bats to humans via an intermediary animal was more likely than any other.

Direct transmission of the virus from bats was unlikely, and transmission of the virus from frozen food to humans was even more unlikely.

A virus that is very similar to SARS-CoV-2 has been found in bats. However, the evolutionary history of this virus is several decades away from SARS-CoV-2.

Very similar viruses have been found in animals such as pangolins, but minks and cats can also act as intermediate animals.

Experts have not reached a definitive conclusion on the speculation that the coronavirus was first transmitted to humans from an animal market in the city of Wuhan.

Samples of the virus have been seen before the pandemic began, which strengthens speculation that the virus originated somewhere other than Wuhan.

The World Health Organization report does not rule out the possibility that weaker forms of the virus that causes COVID-19 may have existed in other places before infections emerged in the Wuhan market.

Source: DW