A first phase of study was carried out at the start of the year by the WHO and the Chinese authorities. On March 29, experts said that transmission of the virus to humans from an intermediate animal was a “likely” to “very likely” hypothesis. That of an “extremely unlikely” laboratory accident. But nothing has been formally attested. And the lines of inquiry are not satisfactory for the boss of the WHO. He himself calls for a new investigation. And deplores the difficulties of international experts to access raw data from China.
Several heads of state are also asking to continue the investigation. US President Joe Biden is giving his intelligence services 90 days to give him a report on the origins of the Covid.
The importance of knowing the origin of covid-19
Even on the scientific side, the pressure is mounting. Several scientists have published a column in the medical journal Science not to rule out any leads. Finding the origins of the Covid would prevent such a pandemic in the future. “We need to understand the missing links that exist between viruses clearly identified in bats and the viral strains that have emerged in Wuhan. If we identify them, we can implement countermeasures. zoonosis, appropriate surveillance measures. If it is a virus that has passed through a laboratory, that will imply that we will have to review the safety standards in which we work on these viruses “, affirms Etienne Decroly, virologist and research director at CNRS.
Several hypotheses are therefore in play: that of a zoonosis, transmission of the virus to humans via an animal. This is the most plausible hypothesis according to Yves gaudin. “We know that the origin of the virus is natural. With either a passage through an intermediate animal from a bat virus and then passes to humans, for the moment this animal has not been identified. Or the virus from the bat which passed directly to humans “, says the virologist, research director at CNRS, who works at the Institute for Integrative Cell Biology in Paris-Saclay.
DO NOT GO AWAY FROM THE LABORATORY ACCIDENT
The other hypothesis a little more flammable is that of the laboratory accident. Some see it as a thin line with conspiracy and the idea that the virus was fabricated. This is false information. On the other hand, the trail of a laboratory accident should be taken seriously according to recognized scientists. There is in the city of Wuhan, cradle of the epidemic, an institute of virology where viruses are studied. “There was extensive surveillance of these viruses aimed at identifying new viruses that were potentially infectious in humans. […] We know very well that this work was done in biosafety laboratories of level 2 and 3 and we know that there can be contamination of the personnel who work on these viruses “, specifies the virologist Etienne Decroly.
A difficult investigation to conduct
China has difficulty cooperating with the WHO. Not all data is accessible. The majority of experts are Chinese. The country does not necessarily allow them to fully cooperate with their foreign counterparts. “The question that arises is not the professionalism of Chinese experts, it is whether the Chinese political authorities allow the experts to cooperate fully.”, affirms Antoine Bondaz, researcher at the Foundation for Strategic Research, China specialist.
It is a way for China to continue its national narrative on this pandemic. And going towards the hypothesis of an accident could be an admission of weakness. “The stake for China is to shed light on the origin of the pandemic but to shed a light that would not go against the interests of China, Chinese practices”, specifies Antoine Bondaz.
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