WHO experts denounce investigation into the origin of COVID-19 in China paralyzed: “The window is closing”

International scientists sent to China by the World Health Organization to find out the origin of the coronavirus reported on Wednesday that the investigation has stalled and they have warned that the window of opportunity to solve the mystery “is closing quickly”.

In a letter published in the magazine Nature, experts appointed by the WHO said that origin research is at a “critical moment” which requires urgent collaboration, but has rather stagnated. Among other things, They noted that Chinese authorities remain reluctant to share some raw data, citing concerns about patient privacy.

Earlier this year, the WHO sent a team of experts to Wuhan, where the first human cases of COVID-19 were detected in December 2019, to investigate what could have triggered the pandemic that has caused more than four millions of deaths worldwide, with more than 10,000 people a day dying despite more than 5 billion doses of vaccines administered. In his analysis, published in March, The WHO team concluded that the virus likely passed from animals to humans, and called the possibility of a leak in the lab “extremely unlikely”.

“Any delay will make some of the studies biologically impossible.”

But WHO experts said their report was only intended as a first step, adding: “The window of opportunity for carrying out this crucial research is closing quickly: any delay will make some of the studies biologically impossible. . “

For example, they said, “Antibodies decrease, so collecting more samples and testing people who may have been exposed before December 2019 will produce diminishing returns”.

For its part, China said researchers should “focus on other possible pathways that can help trace the origin” of COVID-19 and suggested studies be conducted in other countries. Xi Jinping’s regime has encouraged the theory that although the first outbreak occurred in Wuhan, some cases detected early in other countries open the possibility that “patient zero” did not occur in Chinese territory. .

Fu Cong, director general of China’s Foreign Ministry, admitted that it was “a pity” that the search for the origin of COVID-19 has stalled, but said it wasn’t China’s fault. “China has always supported and will continue to participate in science-based origin search efforts,” he said.

He also accused the United States of “exaggerating the leak theory” and trying to blame China, and hinted that the coronavirus could be linked to top US research labs, suggesting that the United States invite the WHO to investigate some of its facilities.

The scientists’ statement came shortly after a U.S. intelligence review ordered by President Joe Biden was inconclusive on the origin of the virus, including whether it passed from an animal to a human or if he escaped from a Chinese lab, the Washington Post reported.

Marion Koopmans and her colleagues hired by the WHO listed a number of priorities for further investigation, including conducting larger antibody studies that could identify where COVID-19 was spreading undetected, both in China and outside China, testing wild bats and farm animals as potential reservoirs for the virus and investigating any credible new leads.

Other scientists fear that the best opportunities to collect samples may have been missed in the first few weeks after some of the first human cases emerged linked to a Wuhan seafood market.

Chinese researchers collected hundreds of environmental samples immediately after the discovery of the coronavirus, but it is not known how many people or animals have been tested.

“Once wildlife traders switch to another type of job because they fear they can continue to do that, that window starts to close,” said Maciej Boni, professor of biology at the University of State of Pennsylvania which has studied the origins of the virus. and was not part of the WHO team.

Still, Boni said scientists may be able to locate the animal origin of COVID-19 by looking for closely related viruses in species such as raccoon dogs, minks or ground squirrels. However, he said it could take up to five years for the kind of in-depth studies to be done.

Research into the origins of COVID-19 has become a bitter source of dispute between the United States and China, with a growing number of American experts calling for an investigation of the two Wuhan laboratories near the seafood market, what China has categorically rejected and called a “scapegoat”.

In July, even WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Gheybreyesus said it was premature to have rejected the laboratory theory, adding that research accidents were common.

Less than two weeks ago, the WHO, in an attempt to reactivate the investigation, urged China to provide information on the first cases of COVID, including data from 174 infections identified in December 2019 that China did not was not shared during the initial investigation.

WHO researchers said it was “agreed” at the time that a second phase of the investigation would fill this gap. But China objected to the WHO’s request earlier this month, saying January’s research should be enough and requests for more data were driven by politics, not science.

(With information from the AP and AFP)

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