Posted on 04/07/2023 9:27:55 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Chinese researchers have published an extensive analysis of samples taken from the Wuhan wet market where it’s believed COVID-19 was first transferred to humans.
This is not evidence that the virus is naturally occurring or that it didn’t leak from a lab. But the detailed analysis gives strong indications that wild animals being sold in the market were infected with COVID-19 and it was they who transmitted the virus to humans.
Why wasn’t this information released before and why now? It could be that the genetic sequences were initially published — perhaps by accident — in February 2022 and were already available for research. This research is the first that’s been peer-reviewed and will appear next month in Nature.
The Chinese research team’s paper showed that some samples – collected from areas where wildlife was being sold – had tested positive for the virus.
Their analysis also showed that animals now known to be susceptible to the virus, particularly raccoon dogs, were being sold alive in those locations.
But the Chinese researchers have pointed out that their discoveries fall short of definitive proof of how the outbreak started.
“These environmental samples cannot prove that the animals were infected,” the paper explains.
Professor David Robertson, from the University of Glasgow, is a virologist who has been involved in the search for COVID origins since 2020.
“It’s the whole body of evidence that’s important,” he said.
“When you bring this together with the fact that the early Covid-19 cases in Wuhan are linked to the market, it’s strong evidence that this is where a spillover from an animal in the market occurred.”
(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...
Who’s so stupid?
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