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Three years after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the origins of the disease are still not known. New genetic data has revived the hypothesis of an intermediate host animal in the spread of the pandemic from the Wuhan market.
After the pangolin or the civet, it is now the raccoon dog which is incriminated. These belatedly published data also revive debates on the lack of transparency from the Chinese authorities.
Once again, eyes turn to the city of Wuhan and its market. Samples, taken in early 2020 from the market in question, showed the presence of DNA from various animals. Among these is the raccoon dog, a small mammal similar to the raccoon. Its fur and flesh were notably sold in the Wuhan market, along with other wild and exotic animals.
No definitive answer
The raccoon dog could therefore be the animal responsible for transmitting the disease to humans. But these data do not provide a definitive answer on how the pandemic began, puts the World Health Organization (WHO) into perspective.
Many questions have therefore still not been answered as to the origin of the coronaviruswhile the hypothesis of a leak from a laboratory comes up again with insistence. The UN agency took the opportunity to denounce China’s lack of transparency, saying that this data, published at the end of January before being withdrawn, should have been shared by Beijing as early as 2020. Three years later, the mystery of this transmission still remains intact.
“These data do not provide a definitive answer to the question of how the pandemic began, but every piece of data is important in moving us closer to that answer.”-@DrTedros https://t.co/un30OezXdV
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) March 17, 2023