New genetic analysis finds clues to animal origin of COVID outbreak
CBSN
The World Health Organization called Friday for Chinese health authorities to release genetic sequences of SARS-CoV-2 that recently disappeared from an international database, after an analysis of the data found it offered new clues that might point towards an animal origin for the COVID-19 pandemic.
The plea comes after a group of scientists outside China analyzed genetic sequences of SARS-CoV-2 viruses that had been initially posted late last month to the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID) database by China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The database is a site where scientists worldwide can access and share genetic sequencing and other data.
The data came from samples taken in early 2020 around the Huanan animal market in Wuhan, which investigations by U.S. and Chinese authorities had pointed to as a potential early epicenter for the outbreak.
