The unresolved question on COVID‐19 virus origin: The three cards game?. Issue 4 (19th December 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Borsetti, Alessandra; Scarpa, Fabio; Maruotti, Antonello; Divino, Fabio; Ceccarelli, Giancarlo; Giovanetti, Marta; Ciccozzi, Massimo
• Other Names: Luo Guangxiang (George) guestEditor.; Ly Hinh guestEditor.; Gao Shou‐Jiang guestEditor.
• Is Part Of: Journal of medical virology. Volume 94:Issue 4(2022)
• Page Start: 1257
• Page End: 1260
• Publication Date: 2021-12-19
• Subjects: coronavirus -- epidemiology -- pandemics -- SARS coronavirus -- virus classification; Virology -- Periodicals; 616
• DOI: 10.1002/jmv.27519
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0146-6615

Abstract

Abstract: The ongoing discussion about the real origin of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) feeds acrimonious debates. Where did SARS‐CoV‐2 come from? Was SARS‐CoV‐2 transmitted in the wild from an animal to a person before exploding in Wuhan or was it an engineered virus that escaped from research or a laboratory in Wuhan? Right now, we still don't know enough whether SARS‐CoV‐2 is human‐made or not, and lab‐leak theories remain essentially speculative. Many recent studies have pointed out several plausible scenarios. Anyhow, currently, even if suspicions by some about the possibility of lab‐leak hypothesis still remain, the consensus view is that the pandemic probably started from a natural source and, to determine the real origin of the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus, further research is needed.