WUHAN, China (AP) – A global team of researchers arrived in the Chinese city of Coronavirus pandemic for the first time on Thursday to conduct a politically sensitive investigation into its origins amid uncertainty over whether Beijing could try. to prevent embarrassing discoveries.
The team of 10 members sent to Wuhan by the World Health Organization was approved by the government of President Xi Jinping after months of diplomatic fighting that led to an unusual public complaint by the WHO chief.
Scientists suspect that the virus that killed 1.9 million people at the end of 2019 jumped to humans from bats or other animals, most likely in southwest China. The ruling Communist Party, frozen by complaints that the disease has spread, says the virus came from abroad, possibly on imported seafood, but scientists reject it.
The team arrived at Wuhan Airport a little later than 11 a.m. with a bright yellow Scoot jet and walked through a makeshift transparent plastic tunnel at the airport. The researchers, who wore only face masks, were greeted by airport staff in full protective gear, complete with masks, goggles and body suits.
Team members include viruses and other experts from the United States, Australia, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, Russia, the Netherlands, Qatar and Vietnam.
A government spokesman said this week that they would “exchange views” with Chinese scientists, but gave no indication whether they would be allowed to gather evidence.
They will undergo a two-week quarantine, as well as a neck swab test and an antibody test for COVID-19, according to CGTN, the English-language channel of the state broadcaster CCTV. They will start working with Chinese experts by videoconference while in quarantine.
China has rejected calls for an international investigation after the Trump administration blamed Beijing for spreading the virus, which plunged the global economy into the deepest crisis of the 1930s.
After Australia called for an independent investigation in April, Beijing retaliated by blocking imports of Australian beef, wine and other goods.
One possibility is that a wild poacher transmitted the virus to traders who took him to Wuhan, one of the members of the WHO team, zoologist Peter Daszak of the American group EcoHealth Alliance, told the Associated Press in November.
A single visit by scientists is unlikely to confirm the origins of the virus; identifying the animal reservoir of an outbreak is usually a thorough effort that requires years of research, including animal sampling, genetic analysis and epidemiological studies.
“The government should be very transparent and collaborative,” said Shin-Ru Shih, director of the Emerging Viral Infection 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 conduct similar investigations elsewhere,” a National Health Commission official, Mi Feng, said on Wednesday.
Part of the WHO team was heading to China a week ago, but had to return after Beijing announced it had not received valid visas.
It may have been a “bureaucratic hurdle,” but the incident “raises the question of whether the Chinese authorities are trying to intervene,” said Adam Kamradt-Scott, a health expert at the University of Sydney.
A possible focus for investigators is the Wuhan Institute of Virology in the city where the outbreak began. One of the most important antivirus research laboratories in China, it has built an archive of genetic information about bat coronaviruses after the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in 2003.
According to the agenda published by the WHO for research into its origin, there are no plans to assess whether there could have been an accidental release of the coronavirus at the Wuhan laboratory, as claimed by some American politicians, including President Donald Trump.
A “scientific audit” of the Institute’s records and safety measures would be a “routine activity,” said Mark Woolhouse, an epidemiologist at the University of Edinburgh. He said it depends on how willing the Chinese authorities are to share information.
“There’s an important element of trust here,” Woolhouse said.
An AP investigation found that the government imposed controls on the outbreak research and prevented scientists from speaking to reporters.
The exact origin of the coronavirus can never be traced because viruses change rapidly, Woolhouse said.
Although it can be a challenge to find exactly the same COVID-19 virus in animals as in humans, the discovery of closely related viruses could help explain how the disease first jumped from animals and clarify what preventive measures are needed to avoid future epidemics.
Scientists should instead focus on creating a “comprehensive picture” of the virus to help react to future outbreaks, Woolhouse said.
“Now is not the time to blame anyone,” Shih said. “We shouldn’t say it’s your fault.”
___
Wu reported from Taipei, Taiwan.