LONDON, United Kingdom – Data from the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, briefly uploaded to a global database by Chinese scientists, gives crucial information on the outbreak’s origins, including of anThe virus was first identified in Wuhan in December 2019, with many suspecting the Huanan live animal market to be the source, before spreading round the world and killing nearly 7 million people.
It comprised new sequences of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and additional genomic data based on samples taken from a live animal market in Wuhan in 2020, according to the scientists who accessed it. “This adds to the body of evidence identifying the Huanan market as the spillover location of Sars-CoV-2 and the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said the report.
In comparison to the leaked information last week, the report adds more detail about other animals present at the market, as well as showing that some of the SARS-CoV-2 positive environmental samples had more animal than human genetic material in them, which the researchers said was consistent with the animals being infected.