WUHAN, China (AP) – The WHO team of international researchers who arrived in the Chinese city of Wuhan on Thursday hopes to find clues about the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The visit has been shrouded in secrecy, with neither China nor the WHO revealing exactly what the team will do or where it will go. Finding the origins is likely to be a years-long effort that could help prevent future pandemics.
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WHY WUHAN?
The Yangtze River Industrial and Transportation Center is the first place the coronavirus appeared in the world. The virus may reach Wuhan undetected from other places, but the city of eleven million is a logical place to start the mission.
People started getting sick in December 2019, many with links to an expanding food market that dealt with live animals. The growing number of patients triggered alarms that prompted the China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to send a team to investigate.
The disease would hit Wuhan before it was controlled in March. The city closed on January 23 with little or no notice. The hardships endured and lives lost became a source of pain and pride for residents once the 76-day closure was lifted on April 8th.
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WHAT IS THE TEAM’S AGENDA?
They must first be quarantined for 14 days, during which they will work with Chinese counterparts by video conference. Possible visits after quarantine are the Huanan Seafood Market, the site of the December 2019 case cluster, and the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Scientists initially suspected the virus came from wild animals sold in the market. The market has been largely ruled out, but it could provide suggestions on how the virus spread so widely. Market samples may still be available, along with the testimony of those involved in the first response.
The Wuhan Institute of Virology maintains an extensive archive of bat coronavirus genetic sequences constructed in the wake of the 2003 SARS pandemic, which spread from China to many countries. WHO team members would expect to have access to logbooks and laboratory data, both junior and senior researchers, and security protocols for sample collection, storage, and analysis.
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WHY THE SECRET?
China has strongly rejected requests for an independent external investigation. Recently, the head of the WHO expressed his impatience for the time it took China to make the necessary arrangements for the visit of the expert team.
The ruling Communist Party maintains strong information and is especially concerned about possible revelations about its handling of the virus that could open it up to international criticism and financial demands.
China stifled independent reports of the outbreak and has published little information on the search for the origins of the virus. An AP investigation found that the government has strictly controlled all scientific research related to the outbreak and bans researchers from talking to the press.
State media continue to reproduce reports suggesting the virus may have originated elsewhere. Announcing the experts’ visit, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said “tracking the origin of the virus is likely to involve multiple countries and localities.”