The coronavirus began to spread around the world after infecting several zero patients. This theory was presented by the director of the WHO Health Emergencies Program, Michael Ryan, a recording of the broadcast of the briefing is available on Twitter.
According to him, in the event of a COVID-19 pandemic, we can talk about more than one primary infection, since the transmission of a pathogen to humans is possible from several animals. “There is more and more information that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is found in various countries. It was recently identified in bats, and we have also seen other potential vectors in different places, ”the specialist explained.
Ryan added that there is no doubt about the natural origin of the virus. However, the version of the first transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from a bat has not yet been proven. So, the coronavirus could spread through multiple sources and even at different periods of time.
“We do not know if it was the person who led to the increase in cases, whether it was an animal, or an environmental contamination,” the WHO specialist stressed, adding that there were certainly cases that anticipated developments in the Wuhan market. Ryan noted that identifying the initial infection is an important aspect of all epidemiological investigations.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the head of the technical team of the WHO Emergency Diseases Unit, recalled that in the case of the Middle East respiratory syndrome, the organization took a whole year of thorough research to determine the primary source of infection.
As of November 23, there are more than 58.9 million people infected with coronavirus in the world, of which more than 1.39 million have died, another 37.6 million have recovered. Most of the infected are registered in the USA, India, Brazil, France and Russia.
