This article explores the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the likely transmission pathway from bats to humans, and the challenges in determining its exact source. It also discusses the global impact of the pandemic, including the high death toll and its effects on public health systems.
It wound up setting off a pandemic that exposed deep inequities in the global health system and reshaped public opinion about how to control deadly emerging viruses.It's thought the coronavirus may have spread from bats to other species and then onto humans at an animal market in Wuhan . (Getty) The virus is still with us, though humanity has built up immunity through vaccinations and infections.
It's less deadly than it was in the pandemic's early days and it no longer tops the list of leading causes of death.Where did the SARS-CoV-2 virus come from?Scientists think the most likely scenario is that it circulated in bats, like many coronaviruses. They think it then infected another species, probably racoon dogs, civet cats or bamboo rats, which in turn infected humans handling or butchering those animals at a market in Wuhan, where the first human cases appeared in late November 2019. That's a known pathway for disease transmission and likely triggered the first epidemic of a similar virus, known as SARS.But this theory has not been proven for the virus that causes COVID-19. Wuhan is home to several research labs involved in collecting and studying coronaviruses, fueling debate over whether the virus instead may have leaked from one.The effort has been made even more challenging by political sniping around the virus' origins and by what international researchers say are moves by China to withhold evidence that could help.How many people died from COVID-19?The World Health Organization has said member countries reported more than seven million deaths from COVID-19 but the true death toll is estimated to be at least three times higher. In the US, an average of about 900 people a week have died of COVID-19 over the past year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Dozens of funeral pyres of COVID-19 victims burn at a converted crematorium for the mass cremation of coronavirus victims in New Delhi, Indi
COVID-19 Pandemic Virus Origin Transmission Bats Wuhan Death Toll Health System
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