C
Chris Smith
Guest
- A coronavirus study said a few days ago that Italian volunteers in a cancer study had COVID-19 neutralizing antibodies as early as October 2019, a date that predates the known start of the Wuhan epidemic.
- Scientists are skeptical about the data, asking for more research that would prove beyond any doubt that the virus was circulating in Europe in September 2019 or even earlier.
- A report in a Chinese state-run paper suggested earlier this week that the coronavirus might have arrived in Wuhan on frozen food packaging, citing the Italian study as indirect proof.
The novel coronavirus is now more than a year old, according to available data — but we still don’t know when the first COVID-19 cases occurred in China. It was only in late December 2019 that the world learned of the new infectious illness that can cause severe pneumonia, and China has never shared any insight into the virus's origin. The World Health Organization’s investigation is still pending, and international experts won’t have access to Wuhan. China has attempted to change the origin story of the illness in the past, either responding to political attacks or taking advantage of new research. The last such attempt happened a few days ago when state-run media wondered whether the virus might have emerged from a different country, only to travel via frozen food packaging to Wuhan. That report cited a study from Italy that says some Italians had coronavirus antibodies as early as October 2019, indicating that they could have been infected in September or even earlier.
Other research from Europe and the US has also signaled that the virus was spreading in communities much earlier than the first positive tests were confirmed, suggesting that it escaped China even earlier than acknowledged. But the October 2019 antibody tests from Italy are more perplexing. They indicate the virus was present in the community much earlier, which means it either left China many months before we thought or it actually did originate somewhere else. But not everyone is convinced that the data paints an accurate picture, with some researchers calling for more analysis to provide better answers.
Today's Best Deal
 | Save 15% on FDA-authorized AccuMed KN95 masks — NIOSH says they're as good as 3M N95 masks $22.32 Available from Amazon Prime. BGR may receive a commission. Buy Now |
Continue reading...
Today's Top Deals
- 10 surprising Amazon deals that are for Prime members only
- People are calling these sleek black KN95 masks ‘perfect’ – and they’re $1.40 at Amazon
- 10 incredible Black Friday 2020 deals that just hit Amazon early
Trending Right Now:
- If you see your password on this list, change it as soon as possible
- If you have any of this in your freezer, throw it out
- This news about coronavirus immunity is incredible
China now suggests the coronavirus pandemic started in Europe, not Wuhan originally appeared on BGR.com on Thu, 19 Nov 2020 at 11:31:20 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Via BRG - Boy Genius Report