How the Coronavirus Pandemic Started: The Theories

Coronavirus (COVID-19) originated in Wuhan, China. Speculation surrounding the onset of coronavirus began appearing once the virus began its rapid spread. At this point, health organizations such as WHO and CDC have not yet classified the virus as a pandemic. Sadly, the virus has affected close to 85,000 and killed over 2,600 people in a little over a two months. If that is not a “pandemic” then really—what is!? At present, the continent of Asia has the most cases of individuals infected by COVID-19. The USA has a confirmed 53 cases and Europe has approximately 400 cases. Ten individuals have died in Europe who were either elderly or had pre-existing illnesses.

What are the Theories Surrounding How the COVID-19 Outbreak began?

How exactly did this monstrosity of a virus begin? The first theory concerning Coronavirus’s beginnings assumes that the virus began in a research lab in Wuhan, China.

1.) Theory #1: Coronavirus started in a microbiology lab called the Wuhan Institute of Virology. This lab is one of two level 4 microbiology labs in the country with the level signifying that it is a bioweapons research lab. This lab is one of two level 4 microbiology labs in China. The lab is designed to handle diseases such as ebola, anthrax and coronavirus. Coronavirus was being studied in the lab prior to the outbreak. Major General Chen Wei, a researcher recruited to Wuhan Institute post outbreak, believes the virus escaped from the lab where it was under experimentation. She is attempting to resolve the missing pieces in this disease’s puzzle.

2.) Theory #2: Coronavirus originated from an infected animal (bat, snake, pangolin) that was sold to a wild meat/wet market vendor. While it is against the law to sell animals that have undergone experimental testing, Chinese researchers have been engaging in the this practice. Researchers in China illegally sell animals that have been experimented on to street vendors and wet markets in order to make extra money. There is a jailed Chinese researcher who made millions selling lab rats and monkeys to the vendors in the wild meat market. China wild meat markets have been around for years. Many Chinese people view the consumption of these wild animal meats as a status symbol and some eat them simply for sport. The one seafood market that was mentioned as connected to the virus was the Huanan seafood market.

Now How Exactly did this Zoonotic Virus Enter into Humans?

It is likely to be one of these subsets or a combination, which was derived from the two above theories:

a) Coronavirus jumped from an infested lab animal into a human researcher at the Wuhan Institute lab, thereby beginning its human-to-human transmission. It is not yet confirmed all the ways in which the virus enters its host. For now, we do know that Wuhan coronavirus enters hosts through the air via the upper respiratory tract and by eating via the gastrointestinal tract.

b) Coronavirus jumped from infested lab or non-lab animals into random individuals who were in close proximity to a wild meat market. These Chinese wild meat and animal markets are often crowded with individuals in narrow spaces. The virus could have easily jumped into various individuals in the crowd who were close to the dead infested animals. Some of these people wish to be front and center to the actual killing of the animals that they purchase. Blood and guts of infected animals out in the open = huge breeding ground for the spread of zoonotic diseases like Coronavirus. The first group of patients hospitalized were workers and customers at the Huanan seafood market. The Hunan seafood market also sold non-aquatic animals such as sheep, snakes, donkeys, camels, foxes, rats and badgers (Japan Times, 2020).

c) Coronavirus entered into individuals who ate an infested lab or non-lab animal, thereby beginning its human-to-human transmission.

Which Animals were Infected with Coronavirus?

The animals that were thought to have been connected to the zoonotic disease, Coronavirus are bats, pangolins and snakes. These animals are considered to be delicacies in Chinese and other Asian cultures. Scientific evidence points to bats, snakes and pangolins as the carriers of this particular strain of the virus. A study completed in February found that 96% of the coronavirus’s genetic code was present in Chinese bat populations (Zhou, 2020). Bats host many unique viruses in their bodies and were also a sole source of the spread of the Ebola, MERS, Nipah and SARS viruses.

Another group of Chinese researchers found that samples of pangolins infected with Coronavirus were 99% identical to infected Coronavirus patients. This particular study hasn’t yet been published. A different group of Chinese researchers analyzed and compared the protein codes of COVID-19 with those in snakes and found them to be similar (Ji et al., 2020). The virus is able to mutate and adapt in both cold and warm-blooded hosts. How it is able to do so remains a mystery. The spread of the virus is more than likely to have been a result of a combination of these animals as primary and intermediate hosts which then spread to humans.

Resources

Deadly coronavirus finds a breeding ground in China's food markets | The Japan Times https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/01/21/asia-pacific/coronavirus-china-food-markets/#.XlWxKJkVmch

Ji, W, Wang, W, Zhao, X, Zai, J, Li, X. Cross‐species transmission of the newly identified coronavirus 2019‐nCoV. J Med Virol. 2020; 92: 433– 440.

Zhou, P., Yang, X., Wang, X. et al. A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin. Nature (2020).