More than three years after the start of the pandemic, Chinese data are still lacking, complains the World Health Organization. Together with China, they really wanted to research the origin of the corona virus – to prevent future outbreaks.
A representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) used unusually harsh words to warn of China’s cooperation in corona virus research. The WHO’s highest-ranking Covid-19 expert, Maria Van Kerkhove, criticized in a commentary in the renowned American journal Science that Chinese scientists had withheld data from virus samples from the metropolis of Wuhan for three years.
“The lack of data disclosure is simply inexcusable,” wrote the epidemiologist, who has been informing the world public about the corona situation since the first infections were known in Wuhan. The WHO only learned of certain genetic information from the central metropolis of China in mid-March of this year, after it was briefly accessible in an international database.
According to Van Kerkhove, the data provide important clues about the importance of a market in Wuhan for the original spread of the virus. However, blood tests are still needed from workers at live animal markets in Wuhan or from the farms where the animals came from.
Restriction hinders the research work
The WHO expert called for immediate provision of relevant data on the origin of the virus. The more time that passes, the more difficult the research work becomes, which is important for preventing future outbreaks. “Time is running out,” she warned.
In early March, statements by FBI Director Christopher Wray in the United States reignited speculation about a laboratory failure in China as the origin of the corona virus. Van Kerkhove emphasized that, as long as there is not enough information, all hypotheses about the origin of the virus will be maintained. China has yet to provide the results of its laboratory tests. Furthermore, the WHO still does not have access to the raw data of the first cases of corona in China.
Since the start of the pandemic, China has feared being blamed for the global outbreak. Since then, the government and state media have carried out a massive disinformation campaign that highlights the possibility that the virus came from abroad and not from China. Rivalry with the US and debate over the laboratory’s thesis have increasingly politicized the question of the origin of the virus. A joint commission of inquiry with WHO experts was only able to travel to Wuhan in 2021. The investigation was not continued.
“WHO continues to urge China and all countries to share all data on the origin of Sars-CoV-2 without delay,” wrote Van Kerkhove. “The world needs to get away from the blame game.” Instead, it must use all diplomatic and scientific approaches to work together, find solutions and prevent future pandemics.
(APA/dpa)