Signs suggesting that there was a widespread outbreak before December 2019, when the infection was first reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, the first epidemic of Corona 19, were reported. This is through an investigation into the origin of Corona 19 conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO).
“Most of the 174 cases of infection in December are severe
13 mutations, evidence that it has already spread
Some viruses are found in the fish market”
Dr. Peter Ben Embarek, who led the WHO Origin Investigation Team, said in an interview with CNN on the 14th (local time), “There were several signs that Corona 19 was already spreading at the time, including 13 mutations in Wuhan in December 2019.” “This is a new discovery,” he said. Dr. Embarek explained that 174 cases of Corona 19 infection were confirmed in Wuhan in December 2019 from Chinese scientists, of which 100 were confirmed by tests and 74 cases were clinically diagnosed based on symptoms.
He noted that most of the 174 cases were likely to have been severely infected. “This suggests that there were already more than 1,000 infected people in Wuhan at the time.” Considering that the proportion of patients with COVID-19 with severe symptoms is around 15%, it is estimated that there were far more cases with mild or asymptomatic infections than confirmed cases.
Dr. Embarek also revealed that the WHO investigative team was the first to obtain genome sequencing data for 13 different novel coronaviruses that occurred in Wuhan in December 2019. “Some of these were found in Wuhan’s Huanan fish market,” he said. This fish market was designated as the place where Corona 19 began to spread.
CNN reported that the 13 mutant viruses reported this time are tangible evidence suggesting that Corona 19 had spread before December 2019 in Wuhan. Corona 19 virus and other ribonucleic acid (RNA) viruses are characterized by frequent mutations in the replication process after infection, and the discovery of 13 mutations is evidence that infection has occurred a long time ago. Professor Edward Holmes of the University of Sydney, Australia, said, “These data are consistent with other analyzes that human infections had already started before December 2019, and that there would have been an undisclosed period of transmission before the pandemic in the angry fish market.” did.
The WHO investigation team started an investigation in Wuhan on the 29th of last month and left China on the 10th. At a press conference on the 9th, the investigating team revealed that they could not find any evidence to prescribe that Corona 19 began in Wuhan. The investigation team will release a report summarizing the findings later.
Reporter Seok Kyung-min [email protected]