Scientists Have Finally Pinpointed The Earliest Cases Of COVID-19 In Wuhan

Although COVID-19 is no longer considered as big of a threat as it used to be, the authorities at the World Health Organization (WHO) are still inquisitive about finding the exact origin of this deadly disease. Research conducted by a team of 18 international scientists demonstrated that the disease first originated from the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, which was located on its southwestern side. The majority of the positive samples for SARS-Cov-2 were collected from this location, which has been considered the “epicenter of the outbreak.” The study conducted was published in “Science”.

Coupled with this, WHO (World Health Organization) in 2021 stated in their report that around 174 people caught this deadly virus at the beginning of this pandemic, and according to recent research carried out by scientists, it has been found that 155 people out of 174 have their residence near the West Bank of the Yangtze River, and this is the location where Wuhan markets are situated. The data also shows that a high density of cases originated from Wuhan markets. This proves the fact that the virus was primarily being transmitted from this location.

However, in their research work, the researchers compared the ratio of infected people to the general population of the same age living in Wuhan, and it was found that infected people were living closer to the Wuhan markets, where the virus has first been found. The researchers stated, “The observation that a substantial proportion of early cases had no known epidemiological link had previously been used as an argument against a Huanan market epicenter of the pandemic. However, this group of cases resided significantly closer to the market than those who worked there, indicating that they had been exposed to the virus at, or near, the Huanan market.”

When the researchers were taking samples for their study, it was found that the majority of the samples that came out positive were accumulated at the southwest corner of Wuhan market, where people were selling live exotic mammals, including raccoon dogs, hog badgers, and red foxes. According to the researchers, “Five of the SARS-CoV-2-positive environmental samples were taken from a single stall selling live mammals in late 2019. All eight COVID-19 cases detected prior to December 20 were from the western side of the market, where mammal species were also sold. “

Stephen Goldstein, who is a geneticist at the University of Utah and is also the co-author of the study said, “These are the most compelling and most detailed studies of what happened in Wuhan in the earliest stages of what would become the COVID-19 pandemic. We have convincingly shown that the wild animal sales at the Huanan Market in Wuhan are implicated in the first human cases of the disease.”

Hence, the study has been acknowledged by the scientists that the main origin of the virus were the markets of Wuhan instead of the fabricated stories that were being shared on social media. One of those stated that the virus originated from the “Wuhan Institute of Virology” when scientists were studying “bat coronaviruses”. Above all, the only authentic origin that has also been proven by the research is “Wuhan’s selling markets.”