A U.S. research team has concluded that the COVID-19 virus did not originate from a Chinese laboratory, offering new findings amid ongoing speculation about the pandemic's origins.
The New York Times reported that a study published in the journal Cell found the COVID-19 virus circulated among animals before accidentally transmitting to humans, through which it acquired the ability to use humans as hosts.
Researchers at the University of California San Diego studied COVID-19 alongside other viruses including Ebola and mpox. They concluded that viruses entering humans by chance adapted to use humans as hosts and evolved into new pathogens.
According to the researchers, the influenza virus that killed 230,000 people in North America in 2009, the Ebola virus that swept West Africa in 2013, and the 2022 mpox virus all infected humans through similar patterns.
The team's analysis shows SARS-CoV-2, the virus known to cause COVID-19, showed little mutation before adopting humans as hosts. The virus displayed minimal changes while spreading among bats but began distinct mutations after transmitting to humans. Within less than a year, it evolved into a highly contagious virus.
During the pandemic, Western nations including the United States alleged that a mutated COVID-19 virus had leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan, China. The researchers emphasized that "the COVID-19 virus was created by chance."
Dr. Joel Wertheim, who led the study, explained that the research adds evidence supporting the animal origin theory. He also warned that "more pandemics could occur in the future because zoonotic viruses are diverse."
Last month, the World Health Organization also supported the view that the COVID-19 virus was not artificially created in a laboratory but originated from bats and accidentally spread at a market in Wuhan, China.