London.-Scientists searching for the origin of COVID-19 have put together a short list of animals that possibly helped transmit the disease to people, in an effort they hope can help them trace the outbreak to its source.
The researchers analyzed genetic material collected at the Chinese market where the first outbreak was detected and found that the most likely animals were raccoon dogs, civets and bamboo rats. Scientists suspect that infected animals were brought to the Wuhan market in late November 2019, which, in turn, sparked the pandemic.
Michael Worobey, one of the authors of the new study, said his team found which subpopulations of animals could have transmitted the coronavirus to humans. This could help researchers pinpoint where the virus commonly circulates in animals, known as its natural reservoir.
“For example, in the case of raccoon dogs, we can show that the raccoon dogs that were (on the market) … belonged to a subspecies that circulates more in some parts of southern China,” said Worobey, an evolutionary biologist at the University from Arizona. This knowledge could help researchers understand where those animals came from and where they were sold. Scientists could then begin collecting samples from bats in the area, known to be natural reservoirs for related coronaviruses, such as the one that causes SARS.
Although the research strengthens the argument that COVID-19 has an animal origin, it does not resolve the polarized political debate over whether the virus emerged from a research laboratory in China.
Mark Woolhouse, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Edinburgh, said the new genetic analysis indicates the pandemic “had its evolutionary roots in the marketplace” and that COVID-19 was highly unlikely to infect people before it was identified. at the Huanan market.
“This is an important finding and tips the balance in favor of an animal origin,” said Woolhouse, who is not involved in the investigation. “But it is not conclusive.”
A group of experts led by the World Health Organization concluded in 2001 that the virus probably spread to humans from animals and that a laboratory leak was “extremely unlikely.” WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus later said it was “premature” to rule out a lab leak.
Currently, COVID is a seasonal disease that can become serious and even cause death if its spread increases, according to the latest analyses. Although vaccines are available worldwide to protect against SARS-CoV-2, between 80% and 90% of recent victims are people who have not received the recommended booster vaccines.
It is essential to leave behind the limited view of the disease from the perspective of pandemic time and recognize its continued presence.
COVID, according to the most recent studies, currently causes more deaths globally than influenza, and reinfections by SARS-CoV-2 generate much more serious consequences than those caused by influenza. While a person can get the flu several times in their life without significant complications, it is not yet clear whether the body can tolerate multiple COVID infections in the same way.
In addition, COVID has a long-term effect known as long COVID, which will be intertwined with the “new COVID”, a product of reinfections derived from new variants and strains that emerge due to the changing nature of the virus.Infobae.
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2024-09-26 18:41:18
