The origin of COVID-19 is still shrouded in controversy. There has been much acrimony between nations. However, this did not achieve much and if anything disrupted international research. We decided to explore what epidemiologists know now.
SARS-CoV-2 Came to Us from Animals
Every virus type has its own unique genetic identity, just as you and we do. However, it also belongs to a family with which it shares many characteristics. In the case of SARS-CoV-2 that family is the severe acute respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus.
Scientists have researched the family tree of viruses and determined SARS-CoV-2 is most similar to a coronavirus in bats. Now since they discovered that latter family earlier, it seems reasonable humanity caught COVID-19 from bats. If we knew how that happened, we could say we know the origin of COVID-19.
That Does Not Fully Explain the Origin of COVID-19
To solve the mystery, we need to know how the coronavirus entered the first human host. However, no one knew this was happening and there was no one else to observe. We also don’t know at which point the virus mutated slightly to the form Chinese doctors discovered.
They traced the infection chain back to a fresh produce market in Wuhan China. They did not sell bats there, in fact the strain lives in caves in mountains far, far away. Did the virus travel from a bat to an animal that ended its days in the market where it infected someone. Or did an infected person who caught it elsewhere bring it to the market?
We need to be careful of similar incidents in the future. Humans and domesticated animals have largely adapted to each other. But a growing human population is spreading out into virgin forests and discovering new species. The safety net is vanishing. The next pandemic could arrive unannounced.
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