Dr. Peter Ben Embarek said in an interview with CNN on the 14th (local time), “Corona 19 is likely to have spread more widely than was initially known in Wuhan in December 2019.” [로이터=연합뉴스]
Hubei Province, China, where the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) first spread Signs suggesting that Wuhan had a much wider range of outbreaks than originally known in December 2019Were reported. The World Health Organization (WHO) visited Wuhan to investigate the origin of Corona 19.
“Wuhan West may have spread before December 2019”
Dr. Peter Ben Embarek, who leads the WHO Origins Investigation Team, told CNN on the 14th (local time). “There were several indications that Corona 19 was already widespread at the time, including 13 mutations in Wuhan in December 2019.”“This is a new discovery,” he said.
Dr. Embarek confirmed 174 cases of Corona 19 infection in Wuhan in December 2019 from Chinese scientists, of which 100 were confirmed by diagnostic tests, and 74 cases were clinically diagnosed based on the patient’s symptoms. Explained that it had been brought down.
He noted that most of the 174 cases were likely to have been severely infected. “This suggests that there were already over 1000 infected people in Wuhan.”Said. Considering that the proportion of corona19 patients with severe symptoms is about 15%, it is estimated that there would be much more mild and asymptomatic infections than confirmed cases.
In addition, the WHO research team was the first to obtain data on 13 different SARS-COV-2 genome sequences that occurred in Wuhan around December 2019, Dr. Embarek said. “Some of these were found at the Huanan fish market,” he added. Wuhan’s Huanan Fish Market is one of the epicenters where Corona 19 began to spread widely.
CNN reported this time 13 virus mutations are tangible evidence suggesting that Corona 19 has spread in Wuhan before December 2019Said. Due to the nature of the ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus, Corona 19 frequently mutates during the infection process, and the fact that 13 types of mutations were found is a proof that infection has occurred a long time ago.
“These data are consistent with other analyzes that human infections began before December 2019, and there was a period of undisclosed transmission before the outbreak in the angry fish market,” said Edward Holmes, a professor at the University of Sydney, Australia.
The WHO investigation team started a full-fledged investigation in Wuhan on the 29th of last month and left China on the 10th. However, at a local press conference on the 9th, it was revealed that there was no evidence to prescribe that Corona 19 started in Wuhan. The investigation team will release a report summarizing the results of the Wuhan investigation later.
Reporter Seok Kyung-min [email protected]