WHO dismisses 'lab leak' theory of coronavirus origin in Wuhan, China
Following
a 12-day visit to China to probe the origins of COVID-19 in Wuhan, a team of World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday
dismissed the theory of a 'lab leak' of the virus.
According
to Washington Post, Peter Ben Embarek, the Danish WHO food safety expert
leading the international team, said his group will not recommend further
investigation into the theory that the virus accidentally leaked from labs
conducting coronavirus research.
Embarek
told reporters that the judgment was based on "long, frank, open
discussions with researchers and management" at institutions including the
Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).
"They're
the best ones to dismiss the claims and provide answers to all the
questions," he said.
"Our
initial findings suggest that introduction through an intermediary host species
is the most likely passway and one that will require more studies and more
specific targeted research ... The findings suggest that a laboratory incident
hypothesis is extremely unlikely to explain the introduction of the virus into
the human population," the WHO expert added. Read More
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