WUHAN, China (AP) – A global team of researchers arrived in the Chinese city where the coronavirus pandemic was first detected on Thursday to conduct a politically sensitive investigation into its origins amid uncertainty over whether Beijing could trying to prevent embarrassing discoveries.
The 10-member team sent to Wuhan by the World Health Organization was approved by President Xi Jinping’s government after months of diplomatic wrangling that prompted an unusual public complaint from the WHO chief.
Scientists suspect that the virus that has killed 1.9 million people since the end of 2019 has jumped on humans, bats or other animals, most likely in southwest China. The ruling Communist Party, stung by complaints that it has allowed the disease to spread, says the virus came from abroad, possibly on imported seafood, but scientists reject it.
CGTN, the English-language channel of the public broadcaster CCTV, reported the arrival of the WHO team. Members include Viruses and other experts from the United States, Australia, Germany, Japan, Britain, Russia, the Netherlands, Qatar and Vietnam.
A government spokesperson said this week that it would “interact” with Chinese scientists, but gave no indication that they would be allowed to collect evidence.
They will undergo a two-week quarantine along with a throat swab test and antibody test for COVID-19, according to an article on CGTN’s official Weibo account. They are to start working with Chinese experts by video conference in quarantine.
China has rejected requests for an international investigation after the Trump administration blamed Beijing for the spread of the virus, which plunged the world economy into its deepest recession since the 1930s.
After Australia called for an independent inquiry in April, Beijing retaliated by blocking imports of Australian beef, wine and other products.
One possibility is that a wildlife poacher may have transmitted the virus to traders who transported him to Wuhan, said one of the WHO team, US group zoologist Peter Daszak. EcoHealth Alliance, to the Associated Press in November.
A single visit from scientists is unlikely to confirm the origins of the virus; Determining the animal reservoir of an epidemic is usually a comprehensive endeavor that requires years of research, including the collection of animal samples, genetic analyzes and epidemiological studies.
“The government needs to be very transparent and collaborative,” said Shin-Ru Shih, director of the Emerging Viral Infections Research Center at Chang Gung University in Taiwan.
The Chinese government has tried to confuse the origin of the virus. He promoted theories, with little evidence, that the outbreak could have started with imports of contaminated seafood, a notion rejected by scientists and international agencies.
“WHO will have to carry out similar investigations in other places,” National Health Commission official Mi Feng said on Wednesday.
Some members of the WHO team were on their way to China a week ago, but had to turn around after Beijing announced that they had not received valid visas.
It could have been “bureaucratic nonsense,” but the incident “raises the question of whether Chinese authorities were trying to intervene,” said Adam Kamradt-Scott, a health expert at the University of Sydney.
One possible center of interest for investigators is the Wuhan Institute of Virology in the city where the outbreak began. One of China’s top virus research labs, it built an archive of genetic information on bat coronaviruses after the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome.
According to the agenda published by the WHO for its research on the origins, it is not planned to assess whether there could have been an accidental release of the coronavirus at the Wuhan laboratory, as some American politicians have claimed, including President Donald Trump.
A “scientific audit” of the Institute’s records and security measures would be a “routine activity,” said Mark Woolhouse, an epidemiologist at the University of Edinburgh. He said it depends on the willingness of the Chinese authorities to share the information.
“There is a great element of confidence here,” Woolhouse said.
An AP survey found that the government has imposed controls on research into the outbreak and prevents scientists from speaking to reporters.
The exact origin of the coronavirus may never be traced because viruses change quickly, Woolhouse said.
While it may be difficult to find precisely the same COVID-19 virus in animals as it does in humans, the discovery of closely related viruses could help explain how the disease first emerged from animals and clarify measurements preventive measures necessary to avoid future epidemics.
Instead, scientists should focus on building a “full picture” of the virus to help respond to future outbreaks, Woolhouse said.
“Now is not the time to blame anyone,” Shih said. “We shouldn’t be saying it’s your fault.”
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Wu reported from Taipei, Taiwan.
