Scientists have identified the main source of the coronavirus's spread

Scientists have conducted a new thorough study of the Huangan animal market area in the Chinese city of Wuhan, which is often cited as the source of COVID-19 spread. They confirmed this status and determined which animal species may have been the source of the virus that has become dangerous to humans. The study is published in the scientific journal Cell.

According to the results of the analysis, the epicentre of the spread of the infectious disease was the market in the city of Wuhan, and the virus directly transmitted to people - infected animals.

It is indicated that the researchers took hundreds of swabs from the walls, floors, equipment of the market, as well as sampled washes in the sewage of the market. They analysed the collected material by metagenomic sequencing, which involves genetic analysis of the samples.

Animals present in the market and such that could have been infected with the coronavirus included rabbits, dogs, raccoon dogs, bamboo rat, Amur hedgehog, Malayan dipper, Chinese muntjac, Himalayan surak and Himalayan civet," the paper said.

The scientists stressed that rabbits, dogs and raccoon dogs are the most favourable for COVID-19.

The latter are also capable of transmitting the infection, making them a serious candidate for the role of animals that first transmitted the virus to humans," the researchers noted.

The scientists were also able to determine when the virus first appeared on the market. According to them, infected animals appeared on the market in late autumn 2019.

The virus present in the market appeared at the same time as the virus that caused the pandemic. Hence, the scientists claim, it is the same virus, the experts concluded.

The study also said that swabs collected at the market showed both variants of the virus circulating from the early days of the pandemic - "A" and "B". In addition, the market as the primary source of the spread of the disease is also indicated by the fact that the first to fall ill were those people who worked in the market or those who lived near the market.

In their study, the scientists note that they considered the Wuhan laboratory as the primary source of the coronavirus spread, but they assure that this theory was discarded in the course of the study and were finally convinced that the virus began to spread among people at the market.

Understanding the origin of SARS-CoV2 is important not only for analysing this pandemic, but also possible pathways for future ones," the document says.

Experts point out that much has been done since the pandemic to improve safety in laboratories and reduce the potential for accidental release of viruses. However, much less attention has been paid to wild and domestic animal trade, which continues to pose serious risks.

In reaching their conclusions, the scientists pointed out that in samples from the Huangan market, they found an H9N2 flu virus that is "ready to spread".