Investigators from the World Health Organization had planned a trip to Beijing to conduct on-site investigations and provide evidence of the origin of the new coronavirus. A postponed trip, because the Chinese still had to ” to negotiate With the WHO.
The origins of the new coronavirus
For a little over a year we have been leading our lives according to the circulation of the virus. Imported from China, it would have started on a food market in Wuhan, through the pangolin (a small mammal eaten by the Chinese). Here is the most plausible theory, retained by scientists. However, compelling evidence is lacking. This is why experts, reporting to the WHO, have been entrusted with a mission of the greatest importance: to go to China and more precisely to Wuhan, to investigate and confirm or not the origin of the new coronavirus. The animal species carrying this virus is the bat. We then speak of zoonoses, which are characterized by infectious diseases transmitted from animals to humans. However, it turns out that the bat cannot infect humans directly, it needs an intermediate host. The researchers implicated the pangolin, which today proves to be probably “innocent”. Epidemiologist Daniel Lucey, from Georgetown University in Washington, told AFP that the new coronavirus would have “appeared naturally several months earlier, perhaps a year before, perhaps even earlier”. Indeed, since the virus was already very contagious in the Chinese food market, this may mean that it has actually been around for a while.
Where does it actually come from?
Many rumors about the origins of the coronavirus, responsible for Covid in the world, have circulated since the start of the epidemic. Today, it would be a question of finding the animal (the intermediate host) responsible for its transmission to humans. Research is therefore essential to implement preventive actions against these animal species, such as prohibiting their breeding or avoiding interactions with humans. Currently, one of the tracks mentioned by some specialists would lead to mink, bats being able to nest in the sheds in which these small mammals are raised. China is the world’s largest producer of fur, closely followed by Italy and Denmark. In addition, as the president of the Veterinary Academy of France, Luc Angot, points out, “ Lombardy is also a region of intense trade with China “. It is in this region in particular that the first cases of Covid-19 appeared in Italy. The WHO investigation is therefore capital, even if Peter Daszak, president of the EcoHealth Alliance (American association for the protection of people, animals and the environment against infectious diseases) tells AFP that “ We will never be sure but we will surely have solid proof. “.
