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COVID-origins study links raccoon dogs to Wuhan market: what scientists think

Some say the analysis supports the hypothesis that the virus that causes COVID-19 spilled over from an animal — but falls short of definitive proof.
  1. Smriti Mallapaty
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Raccoon dogs, bamboo rats, palm civets: these are just some of the animals whose DNA has been found in swabs taken from the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, which has been linked to the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic. The swabs also tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease. The analysis — posted on 20 March to the research repository Zenodo1 — provides evidence supporting the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 spilled over from animals to humans at the market, say some researchers.

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Nature 615, 771-772 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00827-2

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 22 March 2023: This article originally stated that Débarre presented the group’s findings to the WHO. It was her colleagues Michael Worobey, Edward Holmes and Kristian Andersen. The text has been corrected.

References

  1. Crits-Christoph, A. et al. Preprint at Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7754299 (2023).

  2. Freuling, C. M. et al. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 26, 2982–2985 (2020).

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  3. Meng, L. et al. ISME J. 17, 549–560 (2023).

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  4. Gao, G. et al. Preprint at Research Square https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1370392/v1 (2022).

  5. Xiao, X. et al. Sci. Rep. 11, 11898 (2021).

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  6. Worobey, M. et al. Science 377, 951–959 (2022).

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