Covid-19 found in raccoon dogs in China, strengthens natural origin theory: Report

The first coronavirus case was reported in China’s Wuhan Province in December 2019. Globally, there have been 760,360,956 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 6,873,477 deaths, according to the WHO.

A new analysis of genetic samples collected from a seafood market in central China's Wuhan city shows the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in raccoon dogs sold at the venue, strengthening the case for the natural origin of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a team of international experts.

The New York Times said in a report on Thursday that genetic data was drawn from swabs taken from in and around the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market starting in January 2020, “shortly after the Chinese authorities had shut down the market because of suspicions that it was linked to the outbreak of a new virus.”

The new evidence comes weeks after an intelligence assessment from the U.S. Department of Energy pointed out that an “accidental laboratory leak” from a virology laboratory in Wuhan was most likely the cause of the pandemic.

While the animals had been cleared out from the market, researchers took swabs from the walls, floors, metal cages and carts used for transporting animal cages, the report said.

“In samples that came back positive for the coronavirus, the international research team found genetic material belonging to animals, including large amounts that were a match for the raccoon dog,” it said, quoting three scientists involved in the analysis.

The report noted that after the international team came across the new data, it reached out to Chinese researchers who had uploaded the files with an offer to collaborate.

However, after that, the sequences disappeared from GISAID (Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data), it said.