The origin of the COVID-19 virus continues to be a hotly debated topic even as the world seems to have recovered from the impact of the pandemic that brought the world to a standstill for much of 2020 and 2021. There are two theories on how the COVID-19 virus originated – the first suggests that it was leaked from a laboratory in China, while the second one says that it was started in the 'wet market' in Wuhan, China.
Despite scientists insisting that the 'wet market' was the likely source of the virus, many still believe it was leaked from a lab. However, a recently published major international study has confirmed that the virus spread from the 'wet market,' making it hard for the leak conspirators to keep claiming.
The study, which is based on new data released by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), found that the genetic samples of some of the animals sold in the 'wet market' in Wuhan had traces of the COVID-19 virus. The study claims to have ascertained that a raccoon dog, an East Asian animal, was responsible for carrying the virus. It said that many of the first victims of COVID-19 in Wuhan were workers at the market.
The study was led by Florence Débarre of the French National Centre for Scientific Research, while Kristian Andersen from Scripps Research was listed as one of the authors. Despite the near-certainty with which the study pinpoints the raccoon dog, it notes that other animals in the market also carried the COVID-19 virus.
"This adds another layer to the accumulating evidence that all points to the same scenario: that infected animals were introduced into the market in mid to late November 2019, which sparked the pandemic," the study's author, Anderson, said in the introductory remarks.
Meanwhile, the alternative theory suggests that the pandemic originated from a lab leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. This gained attention after FBI Director Christopher Wray stated that the bureau believes Covid-19 "most likely" came from a Chinese government-controlled lab. Despite President Biden's investigation into the lab leak theory, there is no conclusive evidence to support the same.