They are over 16 inches tall, look like raccoons, play a major role in the fur trade – and they could hold the key to the question of the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus: raccoon dogs. Corresponding gene traces were found in the Wuhan market. German virologists see themselves confirmed, and China may have wanted to hide the explosive information.
French scientist Florence Débarre calls her explosive discovery an “accidental find” and only realized its significance after five days. The evolutionary biologist is researching the origins of Covid at the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of France’s national research organization CNRS and is currently not giving interviews about her discovery: they shouldn’t even be public, she explained. Your full report is not ready yet.
The Frenchwoman works intensively with GISAID, a global database with genome data of flu and SARS-CoV-2 viruses. What she found there seemed so important to her that she consulted other scientists, as “Science.org” reports. On Tuesday, the electrified experts presented their findings to a panel that the WHO has set up in 2021 to fight emerging pandemics. The Scientific Advisory Group on the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO) is an advisory group on the origins of novel pathogens.
These are samples from the market in Wuhan with the corona virus, which also contained genetic material from animals, in particular raccoon dogs. They hark back to the cuts made by Chinese scientists after the market closed in January 2020. So far there are no samples from there with animal tracks and virus. On the contrary: Chinese scientists explicitly wrote in early 2022 that no virus could be detected in samples with genetic traces from 18 animal species. There was no mention of raccoon dogs at all.
However, many scientists consider this a possible key if the virus has jumped from animals to humans. Now there’s something like a prime suspect’s DNA found at the crime scene. The magazine “The Atlantic”, which first made the discovery public and also spoke to researchers who were not involved, writes of the “strongest evidence to date that an animal caused the pandemic”.
German virologist Christian Drosten also sees himself confirmed: “The preliminary result strongly supports my assumption of an origin in raccoon dogs or other carnivores such as civet cats, which has been expressed since the beginning of the pandemic,” Drosten told the dpa. Raccoon dogs also had the SARS-CoV-1 virus activated.
When the team of scientists with Florence Débarre contacted the Chinese researchers for a collaboration, according to the GISAID rules, something strange happened: the corresponding sequences that the Chinese had set disappeared from the database again.
Because they contradict previous official Chinese statements? The data from China was uploaded by the team of scientists there, who wrote in 2022 that none of the 1,380 smears had been discovered with animal tracks. Now the highest viral load was found in the raccoon dogs.
Chinese authorities have strongly denied that illegally sold live animals could be responsible for the outbreak. Even the WHO had come to the conclusion based on the limited Chinese cooperation: there were no “verified reports of live mammal sales in the market in 2019”. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus scolds: “This data could have been available three years ago, and it should have.” He again called on China to be transparent, conduct the necessary investigations and report the results.
The finds and possible Chinese attempts to stop them are not yet definitive proof. This would require a virus sample from a mammal at the start of the outbreak, which would require finding an animal with the virus. But “raccoon dogs were not tested on the market and were likely removed before authorities arrived,” Danish evolutionary biologist Kristian Andersen, who was involved in the study, told The Atlantic.
Fabian Leendertz of the Helmholtz Institute for One Health in Greifswald, a member of WHO’s Causes Research Group, says it’s actually a “routine procedure” to examine environmental samples for the genetic material of animals in the area in question.
The new findings may allow the laboratory theory to fade into the background. Leendertz called them “purely politically motivated”. Drosten said: “Of course you have to take all theories about the origin of the virus seriously, but a natural origin from one of the mentioned animal groups was the most likely explanation from the start.”
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(t online)
Source: Blick
I am Ross William, a passionate and experienced news writer with more than four years of experience in the writing industry. I have been working as an author for 24 Instant News Reporters covering the Trending section. With a keen eye for detail, I am able to find stories that capture people’s interest and help them stay informed.
