When the coronavirus pandemic hit the world, it was believed that the SARS-CoV-2 virus would have originated from the consumption of bat soup and there was even talk of the possibility that it had been created in a laboratory in China.
However, a recent study published in the journal Science points out that the covid-19 originated in the Wuhan market and it was even possible to find the exact place where it all started.
To find the origin of the virus, scientists carried out location mapping at the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China. In addition, they analyzed official data from the first 155 cases that would have been classified as rare pneumonia in December 2019.
The experts calculated exactly where these 155 people lived and where they worked, placing those with a clear connection to the market in orange. While those who had no known contacts but who, due to their proximity to the seafood market, also became ill, were marked in blue.
This mapping made it possible to determine that people who did not go to the seafood market were infected because they lived near it.
They were the first community to be affected because they shared businesses, restaurants and sidewalks with the market workers who were infected first.
– Michael Worobey, epidemiologist in charge of the study
In the same study, an attempt was made to locate the exact place where SARS-CoV-2 emerged. Scientists point to the shops in the west wing of the Huanan market as the key point, since it has been confirmed that live animals were sold there, among which there were 10 species that can transmit coronaviruses.
To test their theory, the scientists searched for SARS-CoV-2 on some market and local surfaces. One of these turned on the red alerts by having five positive samples of coronavirus in a metal cage, in two transport cages, on the floor and in a brush to remove hair or feathers. In addition, the specialists pointed out that said place is located next to the drains of the market and a water source.
Despite the results obtained, scientists admit that they cannot have complete information, since the market closed its doors on January 1, 2020, all the animals were taken away and tests were never carried out on the species to find out if any of them these had some variant of SARS-CoV-2 that developed covid-19.
This study would be the first definitive indication that the coronavirus developed naturally in the seafood market in Wuhan and could give the world of medicine new tools to stop or eradicate massive infections.