WHO report on origin of pandemic will reaffirm hypothesis of animal contagion in China

The spread of the novel coronavirus from bats to humans via other animals is the most likely cause of the pandemic, according to the draft of a joint study by WHO and China on the origin of COVID-19 to which he had access The Associated Press. The document judged “extremely unlikely” that the origin was a laboratory leak.

The results were as expected and left many questions unanswered. The authors proposed new investigations in all areas except in the event of a laboratory leak.

The report’s release has been repeatedly delayed, raising doubts as to whether the Chinese side is trying to change the findings to avoid accusations from the pandemic leadership. in China. A World Health Organization official said late last week that he hoped it could be released “in the next few days.”

The PA received what appeared to be an almost final version on Monday, provided by a Geneva-based diplomat from a WHO member country. It was not clear if the text could still change before it was published. The diplomat declined to be identified as he was not authorized to release the document before it was released.

The researchers listed four possible scenarios in order of probability. They concluded that contagion from a second animal was likely or very likely. They felt that direct contagion from bats to humans was likely and noted that expansion through the food cold chain was possible, but not likely.

The closest relative of the virus that causes COVID-19 has been found in bats, which are known to be carriers of different coronaviruses. However, the report notes that “the evolutionary distance between bat viruses and SARS-CoV-2 is estimated to be several decades, suggesting a missing link.”

Other very similar viruses have been found in pangolins, but mink and cats are also susceptible to COVID, which suggests that they could be carriers.

The report is mainly based on a visit by the WHO international expert team to Wuhan, the Chinese city where COVID-19 was first detected. The visit took place between mid-January and mid-February.

Peter Ben Embarek, a WHO expert who led the mission to Wuhan, said on Friday the report had been finalized and was under review and translation.

“I hope that in the next few days the whole process will be completed and that we can make it public,” he said.

Denounced by the Donald Trump administration, which accused it of being too accommodating with China, WHO has secured the support of his successor, Joe Biden.

But as the new Democratic president has made a game-changer with the organization, The United States continues to have “significant concerns” about the WHO investigation and has asked Beijing for more information.

The pressure is not just coming from Washington.

The European Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Walter Stevens recently called for the report to be “fully transparent and answer the questions we all ask ourselves”.

In an open letter, 24 international researchers called for a new independent and more comprehensive investigation, and denounced the “structural limitations” suffered by the work of WHO experts during their visit to China.

WHO experts assured that they got access to the places and people they wanted, but the team leader, Peter Ben Embarek, asked for “more data” to go further in the investigation.

With AP information

KEEP READING: