A recent study of genetic data from a market in Wuhan, China has sparked fresh debate about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study, conducted by virologist Jesse Bloom at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, examined the relative amounts of animal and viral material in swabs taken from surfaces at the market in early 2020. The study found that it was difficult to draw conclusions about whether given samples of the virus had come from infected live animals or were simply from incidental contamination, and did not support the case that the pandemic had started with illegally traded animals.
However, several outside experts have raised concerns about the study’s methodology and the potential impact of unknown variables and decisions about how to filter the data. As a result, the findings have not significantly altered their impression of previous studies. Samples from the market remain critical pieces of the puzzle of how the coronavirus reached humans.
2023-04-29 09:45:40
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