Question: Where did the corona virus disease originate

Melanie Krause answered on 14 Jan 2022: last edited 14 Jan 2022 1:10 pm

Hi again!
That is a very loaded question 😉
So the virus that causes the current pandemic SARS-CoV-2 definitely originated somewhere in China in the region around the city of Wuhan. A while ago there was a very similar virus called SARS-CoV-1 but it did not spread as well amongst humans. For this one we know for sure that it jumped from animals into humans and it did so in fur farms. There, animals are kept very close together and the humans that kill the animals for fur are also in direct contact with them every day, which makes a great ‘testing ground’ for the virus to enter a new species.
For the current virus we cannot say with absolute certainty how it originated. Scientists have found viruses that are closely related to SARS-CoV-2 in bats, but the virus is also very good at infecting cats, so it could have a related virus in wild Chinese cats. But we have not found the ‘original’ animal virus so we can’t say for sure.
Some people say it came from a lab, because in Wuhan there is a big research institution that works on corona viruses, but Wuhan is a very large city with 14 million people, so naturally it has Universities and associated research institutions.. there are also plenty of corona virus labs in Berlin or London.
A lot of very influential scientists recently put out a joined article in which they say its much more likely that the virus came from animals again.. we just don’t know for sure yet which one. It is called ‘The origins of SARS-CoV-2: A critical review’ if you want to have a look 🙂