How did covid-19 originate?
May 10, 2020, 2:58 pm
#31
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My assumption is that reduced international traffic (by people) would probably still have helped in ways even if the virus hopped from a migratory bat to a person/persons. Limiting traffic usually makes things easier to monitor, analyze and do a whole lot of other things even in other spheres of life. This is unlikely to be different.
May 11, 2020, 4:00 am
#32
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AFAIK, there isn't any [verified] evidence where it originated from at this time; only speculation based on information provided by many different sources.
Some experts believe it originated in the Wuhan Wet Market, others believe it originated 'from' the Wuhan lab, others have other theories.
Some experts believe it originated in the Wuhan Wet Market, others believe it originated 'from' the Wuhan lab, others have other theories.
Natural spillover or research lab leak? Why a credible investigation is needed to determine the origin of the coronavirus pandemic
- Based on previous research, Daszak thinks that 1- to 7-million people in Southeast Asia a year are exposed to bat viruses. He told Vox that half-a-dozen people work in the sophisticated labs at the Wuhan Institute of Virology that contain coronavirus cultures: “So let’s compare 1-million to 7-million people a year to half-a-dozen people; it’s just not logical.” Various researchers have other reasons to believe a lab accident couldn’t have happened.
Other origin theories, however, focused on safety lapses in the course of basic scientific research, are all possibilities. While there is, as of yet, little concrete evidence for them, there are several indications that collectively suggest this is a serious possibility that needs following up by the international community. -
- The viral melting pots of bat caves provide ideal conditions for dangerous new pathogens to emerge. These are the types of places where SARS-CoV-2’s two deadly coronavirus predecessors are believed to have come from: SARS-CoV, the coronavirus behind the SARS outbreak of 2002-2003, and MERS-CoV, the coronavirus responsible for the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Studies can show us what’s coming, the reasoning goes, and help us better prepare. Unfortunately, working with bats is highly risky. -
- While helpful, protective gear doesn’t necessarily shield the researchers from scratches or bites from the bats. The risk of infection is clearly on Junhua’s mind in the video. Yet, a Voice of America article describes national regulators having found “sloppy” bat handling practices during a review: “One of the researchers working at the Wuhan CDC described to China’s state media that he was once attacked by bats and he ended up getting bat blood on his skin. In another incident, the same researcher forgot to take protective measures, and the urine of a bat dripped ‘like rain onto the top of his head,’ reported China’s Xinhua state news agency.” Other scientists commenting on the video have judged the protective equipment used “inadequate” and the team’s operational practices “unsafe.” -
- Fieldwork risks are one thing, but lab work risks are significant, too. Because most coronaviruses are harmless, and the ones that infect humans generally only cause a cold, the viruses have been classified as relatively low risk, to be studied at biosafety level 2 (BSL-2) labs. Problems arise when new, dangerous coronaviruses unexpectedly appear, as BSL-2 containment only provides minimal protection for workers and the environment. -
- Biosafety practices around coronaviruses was also the topic of cables sent from the US embassy in Beijing to Washington two years ago, as recently reported in The Washington Post. US diplomatic scientists had visited the Wuhan Institute of Virology several times, and two cables were sent to alert the State Department of their concerns with management weaknesses and “a serious shortage of appropriately trained technicians and investigators needed to safely operate this high-containment laboratory.” The cables explicitly raised concern that the lab’s coronaviruses research could risk a new SARS-like pandemic, and called for more US support for the lab to help fix its problems. -
- On February 14, Chinese President Xi Jinping highlighted the need to incorporate biosafety into its national security regime. Xi’s remarks were immediately followed by a Ministry of Science and Technology instruction on strengthening biosafety management in labs handling the novel coronavirus. -
- Based on previous research, Daszak thinks that 1- to 7-million people in Southeast Asia a year are exposed to bat viruses. He told Vox that half-a-dozen people work in the sophisticated labs at the Wuhan Institute of Virology that contain coronavirus cultures: “So let’s compare 1-million to 7-million people a year to half-a-dozen people; it’s just not logical.” Various researchers have other reasons to believe a lab accident couldn’t have happened.
Other origin theories, however, focused on safety lapses in the course of basic scientific research, are all possibilities. While there is, as of yet, little concrete evidence for them, there are several indications that collectively suggest this is a serious possibility that needs following up by the international community. -
- The viral melting pots of bat caves provide ideal conditions for dangerous new pathogens to emerge. These are the types of places where SARS-CoV-2’s two deadly coronavirus predecessors are believed to have come from: SARS-CoV, the coronavirus behind the SARS outbreak of 2002-2003, and MERS-CoV, the coronavirus responsible for the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Studies can show us what’s coming, the reasoning goes, and help us better prepare. Unfortunately, working with bats is highly risky. -
- While helpful, protective gear doesn’t necessarily shield the researchers from scratches or bites from the bats. The risk of infection is clearly on Junhua’s mind in the video. Yet, a Voice of America article describes national regulators having found “sloppy” bat handling practices during a review: “One of the researchers working at the Wuhan CDC described to China’s state media that he was once attacked by bats and he ended up getting bat blood on his skin. In another incident, the same researcher forgot to take protective measures, and the urine of a bat dripped ‘like rain onto the top of his head,’ reported China’s Xinhua state news agency.” Other scientists commenting on the video have judged the protective equipment used “inadequate” and the team’s operational practices “unsafe.” -
- Fieldwork risks are one thing, but lab work risks are significant, too. Because most coronaviruses are harmless, and the ones that infect humans generally only cause a cold, the viruses have been classified as relatively low risk, to be studied at biosafety level 2 (BSL-2) labs. Problems arise when new, dangerous coronaviruses unexpectedly appear, as BSL-2 containment only provides minimal protection for workers and the environment. -
- Biosafety practices around coronaviruses was also the topic of cables sent from the US embassy in Beijing to Washington two years ago, as recently reported in The Washington Post. US diplomatic scientists had visited the Wuhan Institute of Virology several times, and two cables were sent to alert the State Department of their concerns with management weaknesses and “a serious shortage of appropriately trained technicians and investigators needed to safely operate this high-containment laboratory.” The cables explicitly raised concern that the lab’s coronaviruses research could risk a new SARS-like pandemic, and called for more US support for the lab to help fix its problems. -
- On February 14, Chinese President Xi Jinping highlighted the need to incorporate biosafety into its national security regime. Xi’s remarks were immediately followed by a Ministry of Science and Technology instruction on strengthening biosafety management in labs handling the novel coronavirus. -
Last edited by FlitBen; May 11, 2020 at 4:06 am
