Let science decide origins of Covid-19
- A long-awaited report by a WHO team of international and Chinese scientists is inconclusive. But one thing is clear: conspiracy theories must be debunked as soon as possible
The hunt for the origins of Covid-19 might one day be the subject of a feature film, but not any time soon. That is clear from the long-awaited report of a team of international and World Health Organization scientists on their 28-day visit to Wuhan, epicentre of the initial outbreak of coronavirus infection earlier this year.
In their search for the origins of Covid-19 they asked the right questions and their report points the way forward for further investigations, but no more. Evolutionary virologist Edward Holmes of the University of Sydney put it into perspective: “The idea that they’ll go there in a couple of weeks and find the origin – that clearly is not going to happen.”
It is therefore good that WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has pledged to “leave no stone” unturned to find the origin. He acknowledges the report raises questions that need more research, and calls for “more timely and comprehensive data-sharing” in the future.
The latter point reflects tension between China and the United States, with Washington questioning the report’s independence from the mission host and Beijing insisting it has been transparent. Tedros said team members had told him of difficulties in accessing raw data, which he expected to be addressed in future collaborative studies.
The report concludes it is “likely to very likely” the virus spread to humans from a bat or other host species via an intermediary animal in close contact with humans, without ruling out direct bat-to-human or cold-chain food-product transmission. It said it was “extremely unlikely” the virus leaked from a Wuhan laboratory, a theory advanced by former US president Donald Trump and his allies.
It is vehemently rejected by China and viewed sceptically by many scientists. But others say it still needs a proper audit. Tedros says it requires further investigation, potentially with missions involving specialist experts, “which I am ready to deploy”.
The theory needs to be laid to rest lest it distracts from scientific tracking of the virus. Suggestions for investigating other scenarios in the report by 17 international and 17 Chinese scientists include studies outside China, in view of theories that is where the virus may have originated.
