The debate around the origin of SARS-CoV-2 virus

  • There are two theories on the origins of virus— the virus could have been accidentally released from a laboratory or it was the result of a spillover from some animal species to humans. 
  • More and more people and countries after countries are refusing to believe in the theory of natural origin of Covid-19.
  • The Director ­General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom  Ghebreyesus, has also acknowledged that more work needs to be done on the lab leak theory.
  • However, a WHO team that visited Wuhan thought a leak to be the least likely hypothesis.  

WHY THE DEBATE RISING AGAIN?

  • WHO’s governing forum, the World Health Assembly, mandated the Director­ General in May 2020 to conduct an inquiry into the origin of SARS­CoV­2.
  • A joint probe was carried out by WHO and China in January-February 2021. 
  • Since there was no conclusive evidence for either hypothesis — natural spillover or lab leak — there were apprehensions when the report leaned in favour of the animal origin hypothesis.
  • The report described the animal origin hypothesis as “likely to very likely”, and stated that a laboratory incident was “extremely unlikely”. 
  • Responding to the report, Dr. Tedros said he did not see the investigation as being extensive enough, and went along with the view that more studies were necessary.
  • China did not give full access to the activities going on inside the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
BASIS OF NATURAL ORIGIN HYPOTHESIS

  • The Joint WHO­-China study report identified a SARS-related coronavirus in a (horseshoe) bat to which the SARS­CoV­2 virus has 96.2% genomic similarity. 
  • The higher infectivity of SARS­CoV­2 is attributed to peculiarities that it contains in the form of unique insertion of four amino acids in its spike protein that makes it more efficient than the virus causing SARS.
  • Some coronaviruses found in pangolins in China are similar to SARS­CoV­2 in the RBD, showing that the optimised spike protein for efficient binding with human­like ACE2 may have resulted from natural selection.

WHY THE SUSPICION ON WUHAN LAB

  • The researchers have based their theory on two broad counts: the absence of intermediary host and biologically requisite mutations for a bat-housed virus to be infective one to humans, and non-adherence to security protocol for coronavirus research.
  • Wuhan lab is, on the other hand, just 25-30 km from the wet market which China has been insisting as the Covid-19 outbreak zone. 
  • The Wuhan lab has been conducting research on coronavirus including on the family to which Sars-2 is said to be belonging to.
  • The bat species that is said to be the source of Sars-2 is found around 1,500 km from Wuhan, and those flying foxes are not known to go beyond 50 km radius from their habitat. 
  • It is extremely unlikely that Sars-2 travelled 1,500 km without infecting people en route before Wuhan wet market outbreak.
  • Lack of a chain of mutations in the Sars-2, some researchers say, points to a genetically engineered coronavirus produced in a lab. 
  • Unlike previous new pathogens, Sars-2 has appeared ready for human cells without requiring mutation. 
  • Researchers found that Sars-2 found it difficult to adjust back in the bats it is said to have jumped from.




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