Amid controversial claims about the origin of the novel coronavirus, or SARS-CoV-2, experts are hardening their belief that the virus originated from nature.
During a recent interview on Dialogue, Vincent Racaniello, professor of microbiology and immunology at Columbia University, emphasized that "it's not man-made; it's not released from a lab; it's not a bioweapon. This is a virus made in nature. Only nature could make a virus with these kinds of properties. There is no question about that and anyone who thinks otherwise is not looking at the science."
World Health Organization spokeswoman Fadela Chaib rejected theories during a press briefing Tuesday that the coronavirus was created in a lab, saying "all available evidence suggests the virus has an animal origin and is not manipulated or constructed in a lab or somewhere else," and it most likely has its ecological reservoir in bats.
Professor Racaniello further pointed out that although they know it's a bat virus, still the question remains whether it went through an intermediate animal like many other coronaviruses do or whether it went from bats to humans; the only way we can answer that question is by extensive wildlife surveillance, which takes time.
Besides, the significance in pursuing the origin of the virus is to avoid future pandemics, he added.
"From past experience of other zoonotic virus emergency events, it's quite likely that an intermediate host has been involved," said Professor Andrew Cunningham, deputy director of science for the Institute of Zoology at the Zoological Society of London.
He explained that virus hosts naturally evolve over thousands of years and it's difficult for people to get infected from a natural host; however, with an intermediate host, the virus replicates much more rapidly and will also likely mutate, making it easier for people to be infected.
An independent current affairs commentator Einar Tangen agreed with experts that in the long run, research on the origin of the coronavirus would underlie people's understanding of potential threats instead of developing vaccines.
However, with circulating conspiracy theories claiming COVID-19 was engineered in a lab, he warned that people are trying to use this incredible health tragedy as a vehicle for the political and economic agendas.
"Dialogue" is a prime time English-language daily talk show on CGTN. The 30-minute program covers a wide range of domestic and international topics, providing a balanced and critical perspective on current affairs and analysis within the framework of cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary comparisons.
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