The Explosive Truth: Raccoon Dogs Implicated in Origin of Pandemic
A groundbreaking genomic analysis conducted by a team of scientists in March has pointed to raccoon dogs as the source of the COVID-19 pandemic. The team examined data from the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, where the outbreak was believed to have started. Prior to this study, evidence linking animals at the market to the virus was scarce.
Virologist Angela Rasmussen, who was involved in the study, emphasized that the findings strongly indicate that animals at the market were indeed infected, leaving no other logical explanation. Edward Holmes, another researcher involved in the study, confidently declared that the lab leak theory, which suggested that the virus originated from a laboratory accident, could now be ruled out.
New Evidence Supports Market Origin
A serendipitous discovery in January revealed genetic samples from swabs taken at the Huanan market in early 2020, before COVID-19 became widely known. These data offered a unique window into the market’s activities during the early days of the pandemic. The GISAID database, where the samples were uploaded, became a valuable resource for studying the origin of SARS-CoV-2.
Initially, Chinese scientists who had analyzed the swabs believed that the market served as a hotspot for transmission due to its high daily footfall. Their study disregarded the possibility of the virus originating from an animal source. However, based on the raw data, Kristian Andersen, Michael Worobey, and Edward Holmes reached a divergent conclusion, pinpointing stall 29 in the market as the likely starting point. This stall housed raccoon dogs, leading to the headline “The Strongest Evidence Yet That an Animal Started the Pandemic.”
A Three-Year Debate Settled?
The debate surrounding the pandemic’s origin has been fierce and inconclusive since its inception. Initially, pangolins were considered the intermediate species responsible. Bats, known carriers of coronaviruses, were also suspected. The team involved in the raccoon dog study staunchly supported a market origin, despite lacking concrete evidence, which fueled skepticism.
Alternative theories proposed that the Wuhan Institute of Virology, renowned for its research on bat coronaviruses, might have been the source. The lab leak hypothesis gained traction, particularly as biosecurity lapses were reported. However, proponents of this theory faced numerous obstacles, including baseless claims made by former President Trump. In contrast, those advocating for a market origin failed to produce convincing evidence.
New Research Challenges Racoon Dog Theory
The raccoon dog study seemed to provide the strongest argument for a market origin. However, further analysis conducted by computational virologist Jesse Bloom shed doubt on these conclusions. Bloom discovered that several genetic sequences from early in the pandemic had been removed from a database at the request of Chinese scientists.
Using a more comprehensive dataset, Bloom scrutinized the genetic material from the Huanan Market. Contrary to the raccoon dog study, Bloom found that samples containing DNA from non-human susceptible species, including raccoon dogs, had minimal or no traces of SARS-CoV-2. Bloom specifically focused on sample Q61, collected on January 12, 2020, which tested positive for the virus but pointed to a human source rather than a sick animal.
Based on Bloom’s research, it becomes apparent that the presence of animal genetic material in the samples does not necessarily indicate an animal origin for the virus. The most viral material was found in samples associated with the sale of catfish and largemouth bass, indicating human involvement in spreading the virus throughout the market.
