LONDON (AP) – An expert group set up by the World Health Organization to help investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic says further research is needed to determine how COVID-19 first began, including -detailed analysis of the possibility that this is a laboratory incident.
This position marks a sharp reversal of the UN Health Agency’s initial assessment of the origin of the pandemic. The WHO concluded last year that it was “extremely unlikely” that COVID-19 had spread to humans from a laboratory. Many scientists suspect that the coronavirus jumped into humans from bats, possibly through another animal.
In a report released Thursday, the WHO expert group said there was still a lack of “key data” explaining how the pandemic began. The researchers said the group would “remain open to any scientific evidence that becomes available in the future to allow for a comprehensive test of all reasonable hypotheses.”
Identifying the source of the disease in animals usually takes years; It took scientists about 15 years to find the species of bats that were a natural reservoir for SARS, a relative of COVID-19.
The WHO expert group also noted that since laboratory accidents in the past have caused some outbreaks, the highly politicized theory cannot be rejected.
Former US President Donald Trump has repeatedly speculated – without evidence – that COVID-19 was launched in a Chinese laboratory. He also accused the WHO of “conspiring” with China to cover up the initial outbreak, citing ongoing public praise by the UN health agency for the country.
The WHO expert group said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus sent two letters to senior Chinese government officials in February asking for information, including details of the earliest human cases of COVID-19 in Wuhan; it is not clear whether the Chinese responded.
Experts said no studies have been provided to the WHO to assess the possibility of COVID-19 as a result of a laboratory leak. They said their understanding of how the coronavirus came about was limited by several factors, including that not all studies presented by Chinese scientists had been published.
Jamie Metzl, a member of an unrelated WHO advisory group, suggested that the Group of Seven industrialized nations set up their own investigation into the origins of COVID, saying the WHO lacked the political authority, scientific experience and independence to make such a critical assessment.
Metzl welcomed the WHO’s call for further investigation into the possibility of a laboratory leak, but said that was not enough.
“It is tragic that the Chinese government is still refusing to share basic raw data and will not allow the necessary full audit of laboratories in Wuhan,” he said. “Gaining access to this information is crucial both for understanding how this pandemic began and for preventing future pandemics.
WHO experts say a number of research options are needed, including studies assessing the role of wildlife, which is thought to be a natural reservoir of COVID-19, and environmental studies in places where the virus may have spread. for the first time, as the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan.
In March 2021, the WHO published a report on the origins of COVID-19 following a highly choreographed visit by international scientists to China. The report concludes that the disease most likely jumped in people from bats and that there is no evidence to suggest a connection to a laboratory.
However, after considerable criticism, including from some of the scientists on the WHO team, WHO chief Tedros acknowledged that it was “premature” to rule out a laboratory leak and said he had asked China to be more transparent in sharing information. .
In a new report, the WHO said experts had access to data including unpublished blood samples from more than 40,000 people in Wuhan in 2019. The samples were tested for antibodies to COVID-19. None were found, suggesting that the virus did not spread widely until it was first identified in late December of that year.
WHO experts have called for a number of studies, including wildlife testing, to determine which species can host COVID-19. They also said that the theory of “cold chain” supply should be studied, China raised the scientifically dubious theory, claiming that traces of COVID-19 on frozen packaging cause outbreaks and not some internal source.
To investigate whether COVID-19 could be the result of a laboratory incident, WHO experts said the study should be conducted “with laboratory staff tasked with managing and enforcing biosafety and biosecurity”, saying it would provide more information on how viruses related to COVID-19 have been managed.
Earlier, China called the speculation that COVID-19 was started in a laboratory “groundless” and argued that the virus could have originated in US facilities, which are also known to study coronaviruses in animals. The Chinese government has said it supports the search for the origin of the pandemic, but that other countries should be in the spotlight.
WHO scientists have complained in August 2021 that the search for the origin of the pandemic has stopped and that the window of opportunity is “closing fast”. They warned that collecting data that is at least two years old is becoming increasingly difficult.
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