WHO says coronavirus unlikely to have leaked from China lab
Wuhan (China), Feb 9: The coronavirus is unlikely to have leaked from a Chinese lab and is more likely to have jumped to humans from an animal, a World Health Organisation expert said on Tuesday.
WHO food safety and animal diseases expert Peter Ben Embarek made the assessment at the end of a visit to the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where a team of scientists is investigating the possible origins of the coronavirus. The first cases were discovered in the city in December 2019.
The Wuhan Institute of Virology has collected extensive virus samples, leading to allegations that it may have caused the original outbreak by leaking the virus into the surrounding community. China has strongly rejected that possibility and has promoted other theories that the virus may have originated elsewhere. The team is considering several theories for how the disease first ended up in humans.
Our initial findings suggest that the introduction through an intermediary host species is the most likely pathway and one that will require more studies and more specific, targeted research, Embarek said.
However, the findings suggest that the laboratory incidents hypothesis is extremely unlikely to explain the introduction of the virus to the human population, Embarek said.
The WHO team draws on experts from 10 countries. Its mission is intended to be an initial step delving into the origins of the virus, which is believed to have originated in bats before being passed to humans through another species of wild animal, such as a pangolin or bamboo rat, which is considered an exotic delicacy by some in China.
Transmission through the trade in frozen products was also a likely possibility, Embarek said.
Another member of the WHO team told The Associated Press late last week that they enjoyed a greater level of openness than they had anticipated, and that they were granted full access to all sites and personnel they requested.
That expert, British-born zoologist Peter Daszak, said the team looked into issues including what the first cases were, the link with animals and what, if any, the role that imports of frozen food may have played -- a theory that China has long put forward.
The visit by the WHO team took months to negotiate after China only agreed to it amid massive international pressure at the World Health Assembly meeting last May, and Beijing has continued to resist calls for a strictly independent investigation.
Chinese authorities have kept a tight hold on information about the possible causes of the pandemic that has now killed more than 2.3 million worldwide.
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Pant, Axar dazzle as DC beat GT by 4 runs in IPL
New Delhi, Apr 24: Rishabh Pant dazzled with an unbeaten 88 as Delhi Capitals defeated Gujarat Titans by four runs in the Indian Premier League here on Wednesday.
Invited to bat, Pant (88 not out of 43 balls) and Axar Patel (66 off 43 balls) scored contrasting fifties to power Delhi Capitals to 224 for 4.
In reply, Sai Sudarshan (65 off 29 ) and David Miller (55 off 23) scored fifties but couldn't take GT over the line, finishing at 220 for 8 in their 20 overs.
Earlier, Axar and Pant stitched a 113-run partnership to steady the innings after medium pacer Sandeep Warrier (3/15) ran through the top three.
Skipper Pant was in his element scoring as many as eight maximums and five fours. Tristan Stubbs blazed away to 26 off 7 balls.
Brief Score:
Delhi Capitals: 224 for 4 in 20 overs (Rishabh Pant 88 not out, Axar Patel 66; Sandeep Warrier 3/15)
Gujarat Titans: 220 for 8 in 20 overs (Sai Sudharsan 65, David Miller 55; Rasikh Dar 3/44).
Rashid Khan almost pulled off another impossible finish with the bat 💥@DelhiCapitals hold their nerves and clinch a crucial win 👏👏
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 24, 2024
Recap the match on @StarSportsIndia and @JioCinema 💻📱#TATAIPL | #DCvGT pic.twitter.com/xTvwwK23Gv
