Scientists still do not know exactly what caused the SARS-COV-2 coronavirus, writes Das Erste on August 23.
So, the publication notes that there are a number of studies that indicate the appearance of the coronavirus months before its detection in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
For example, French physician Michel Schmitt discovered signs of coronavirus infection in his patients in the city of Komar back in mid-November 2019. According to him, X-rays of the lungs indicate the defeat of this particular infection. In addition, later, antibodies to COVID-19 were found in these patients.
Scientists also found traces of SARS-COV-2 in water samples from Italy and Brazil collected in November and December 2019.
Cambridge University geneticist Peter Forster, who analyzed the spread of the virus, concluded that it arose between September and December.
The probable place of appearance is called China or Asian countries close to it. However, the world scientific community still cannot establish the specific time and place of infection of the first person.
According to Das Erst, WHO is also uncertain about the source of the infection. In early August, the head of the organization, Tedros Ghebreyesus, announced the beginning of a large study of this issue.
On June 9, it became known that scientists from the United States found signs of the spread of COVID-19 in Wuhan in the summer of 2019.
For the first time, an outbreak of coronavirus was officially registered at the end of December 2019 in Wuhan.