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Zoonotic Origins Hypothesis
Since the start of the pandemic, authorities have primarily promoted a origins theory of zoonotic transfer from an animal host to humans.
Bat Coronaviruses
SARS-CoV-2 is most highly similar to coronaviruses that have been found in bats.
The RaTG13 betacoronavirus is the most highly similar coronavirus to SARS-CoV-2, sharing 98.7% identical mitochondrial rRNA, but was supposedly generated from a bat fecal swab, which strikes some scientists as unlikely since metagenomic analysis shows a small 10.3% bacterial rRNA in the dataset.1)
More recently, close coronavirus relatives to SARS-CoV-2 have been found in bats in Laos.2) Some scientists claim this bolsters to the zoonotic origins theory while giving no answers to the numerous critiques of that theory.3)
Pangolins
Conflicts of Interest
Since the start of the SARS-CoV-2 origins debate, a great deal of information has surfaced regarding what at least stand out as conflicts of interest, if not outright corruption, among those defending theories of natural origins. At least $50 million in NIAID funding went to scientists instrumental in defending the natural origins hypothesis.4)
Related Research
- July 25, 2020 - Poudel et al: Animal coronaviruses and coronavirus disease 2019: Lesson for One Health approach.5)
1)
November 22, 2021 | Steven E Massey | preprint | arXiv:2111.09469
2)
September 17, 2021 | Temmam et al | preprint | DOI:
10.21203/rs.3.rs-871965/v1
3)
September 24, 2021 | Smriti Mallapaty | Nature | Closest known relatives of virus behind COVID-19 found in Laos
5)
July 25, 2020 | Poudel et al | Open Veterinary Journal | Animal coronaviruses and coronavirus disease 2019: Lesson for One Health approach