In their opinion, the market in Wuhan can be considered the most likely place of origin of the virus.
A group of American scientists came to the conclusion that the most likely place of origin of the COVID-19 coronavirus can be considered a market in the city of Wuhan. Thus, a study published in the scientific journal Science refuted the hypothesis of the spread of the virus as a result of a laboratory incident.
In addition, scientists have revealed that the first woman infected with the virus was a seafood seller. The first signs of the disease appeared in her on December 11, 2019. Previously, the first infected person was a 41-year-old man who had no connection with the market in Wuhan. However, the latest study showed that the first symptoms of the disease were associated with dental problems, and signs of infection with coronavirus appeared only on December 16.
“The pattern of the spread of the virus cannot be explained by any other place of its origin,” The Washington Post newspaper quotes the author of the study, evolutionary biologist Michael Worobey. He came to this opinion based on the study of the scheme of the spread of the virus, according to which most of the first infected worked in the market or lived near it. The scientist also suggested that the COVID-19 virus is of zoonotic origin, that is, it was transmitted to humans from animals.
A joint report by the World Health Organization and China, published in March following the WHO mission to Wuhan in 2021, noted that the most likely scenario for the appearance of COVID-19 is the transition of the disease from bats to another animal, which later infected people. However, to date, experts have not come to final conclusions about exactly how the virus got to the Wuhan seafood market Huanan. There have also been suggestions about its laboratory origin.
