Jakarta –
The World Health Organization (WHO) has released new data regarding the origin of COVID-19. From the data and samples collected after the first case in 2019 at the Huanan seafood market, Wuhan, the virus is related to the raccoon dogs that are there.
This latest data came to light after Chinese researchers shared raw genetic sequences taken from swab specimens collected on the market early in the pandemic. The sequence was uploaded in late January 2023 to data-sharing site GISAID, but has recently been deleted.
“An international research team noticed them and downloaded them for further study,” the WHO official was quoted as saying CNNMonday (20/3/2023).
What does the data contain?
Previously, Chinese researchers affiliated with the country’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, had shared their own analysis of samples in 2022. However, they concluded that no animal host was the source of COVID-19.
The research looked at 923 environmental samples taken from inside a seafood market and 457 samples taken from animals, and found 63 environmental samples that were positive for the virus that causes COVID-19.
Most are taken from the west end of the market. From that study, no animal samples taken from frozen products for sale and live animals roaming the market were positive. Seeing that, the Chinese researchers did not see any connection with other animals that were suspected of being the main source of the virus.
However, when an international research team recently looked at the genetic material of these samples using metagenomics genetic techniques, they were surprised to find large amounts of raccoon dog DNA.
Raccoon dogs can be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 and are included in the list of animals suspected of being the host of the virus.
“What they found was molecular evidence that animals were being sold in that market. That was suspect, but they found molecular evidence of that. And also some of the animals that were there were susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, and some of those animals including dogs raccoons,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical lead for COVID-19.
“This does not change our approach to studying the origins of COVID-19. It just tells us that there is more data, it needs to be fully shared, and all the hypotheses remain,” he said.
Even so, from the new findings that have not been published, they cannot definitively prove that the raccoon dog was the origin of COVID-19 and became the first animal to infect humans.
That’s because viruses don’t survive long in their host’s external environment. Because, it was found that so much genetic material from the virus was mixed with genetic material from raccoon dogs, which is very convincing that these animals may be the main source of COVID-19.
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(star/kna)
