Origin of Covid: Since the pandemic hit us, Wuhan became a well-known name. Several theories began emerging for it being the birthplace of the fatal coronavirus (COVID-19).
Now, as per a US study, the first known Covid-19 case was a market vendor in China’s Wuhan.
It was the case that eventually contributed to speculation that the virus could have leaked from a lab. In a big turn of events, an accountant from Wuhan of China had developed symptoms eight days later than initially reported. This makes a female seafood seller at the now infamous Huanan market the earliest known case.
As the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19 still remains a mystery.
Not only this, the issue remains a major source of tension between China and the United States.
A joint study by China and the World Health Organization (WHO) this year had ruled out the theory that Covid-19 originated in a lab.
A team of experts from WHO spent four weeks in and around the city of Wuhan with Chinese scientists.
Tracing the Origin of Covid-19
Then, in a joint report in March, they stated that the SARS-CoV-2 virus had probably been transmitted from bats to humans through another animal. But it also stressed further research.
Did you know that it was an accountant, who was widely thought to be the first person or the origin of Covid-19?
This accountant lived 30 kilometres away from the wet market. But he was probably infected through community transmission; as the virus had begun spreading in Wuhan already, said Michael Worobey, head of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
He reported his first symptoms on Dec. 16. It is worth noting that several early symptomatic cases were linked to the Huanan wet market.
Scientists are yet to find the origins of SARS-CoV-2. There are two relevant theories to it: a laboratory escape or a spillover from animals.
Various studies also point out related coronaviruses, including in bats that dwell in limestone caves in northern Laos and in Cambodia.
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