"COVID-19 Origin, Wuhan Seafood Market in China"... Research Report Emerges

Electron microscope image of the COVID-19 virus.
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Seoyoung Kwon] The American daily newspaper The New York Times (NYT) reported that new research has identified the origin of COVID-19 as the seafood market in Wuhan, China.

On the 26th (local time), NYT reported that two research teams involving multinational researchers from Arizona State University, Korea University, and institutions in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, and Malaysia released two research reports containing these findings. The two reports total 150 pages and have not yet been published in scientific journals.

The researchers analyzed that in December 2019, live mammals sold at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan carried the COVID-19 virus, which likely transmitted to market vendors or customers in two separate instances. They also added that they found no evidence supporting the theory that the virus leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which has been suggested as another hypothesis for the origin of COVID-19.

To explore the origin of COVID-19, the researchers analyzed extensive data and estimated the latitude and longitude of 156 confirmed COVID-19 cases from Wuhan in December 2019. The results showed that areas with a high density of confirmed cases were concentrated around the Huanan market. Additionally, analysis of data on 737 confirmed cases collected by Chinese scientists from January to February 2020 on Weibo, China’s social networking service (SNS), revealed a concentration in the central area of Wuhan, where many elderly people reside.

Accordingly, the researchers identified the Huanan market as the origin of the COVID-19 outbreak and estimated that the virus subsequently spread to more distant parts of the city. Simulation results indicated that the likelihood of this pattern occurring by chance was extremely low. Michael Worobey, an evolutionary biologist at Arizona State University who participated in both studies, explained, "Considering all the evidence comprehensively, it is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic started at the Huanan market."

The researchers also focused on the fact that mammals such as raccoon dogs, known as potential hosts of COVID-19, were sold at this market at the end of 2019. In fact, genetic samples collected from the floor and walls of the southwestern part of the Huanan market in January 2020 tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. Their analysis of the evolutionary lineage of viruses collected in the early stages of the pandemic concluded that the virus originated from two different animals and then transmitted to humans, although the specific host animals were not identified.

However, there are also critiques that this research does not definitively reveal the origin of COVID-19. Dr. Jesse Bloom of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center said, "I think their claims might be true," but added, "I do not believe the data are sufficient to be confident that these scenarios are factual."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.