Waiting for the truth
Is reluctance in accepting an early origin hypothesis for Sars-CoV-2 delaying our understanding of viral emergence
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21880396 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Marta Canuti (0000-0002-9959-128X, University of Milan, corresponding author), Silvia Bianchi (0000-0002-1365-9408, University of Milan, corresponding author), Otto Kolbl (University of Lausanne), Sergei L Kosakovsky Pond (0000-0003-4817-4029, Temple University), Sudhir Kumar (0000-0002-9950-0210, King Abdulaziz University), Maria Gori (0000-0001-6478-2791, University of Milan), Clara Fappani (0000-0002-1573-5531, University of Milan), Daniela Colzani (0000-0002-4079-1957, University of Milan), Elisa Borghi (0000-0002-1893-0455, University of Milan), Gianvincenzo Zuccotti (0000-0002-2795-9874, University of Milan), Mario Raviglione (0000-0002-9331-2067, University of Milan), Elisabetta Tanzi (0000-0002-4119-701X, University of Milan), A Amendola (0000-0002-0499-8977, University of Milan, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | e008386 |
| Publication date | 2022-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | BMJ Global Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2059-7908 • E-ISSN: 2059-7908 |
| Publisher | BMJ (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-008386 |
| PMID | 35296465 |
| OpenAlex | W4221035080 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 44 |
Two years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, key questions about the emergence of its aetiological agent (SARS-CoV-2) remain a matter of considerable debate. Identifying when SARS-CoV-2 began spreading among people is one of those questions. Although the current canonically accepted timeline hypothesises viral emergence in Wuhan, China, in November or December 2019, a growing body of diverse studies provides evidence that the virus may have been spreading worldwide weeks, or even months, prior to that time. However, the hypothesis of earlier SARS-CoV-2 circulation is often dismissed with prejudicial scepticism and experimental studies pointing to early origins are frequently and speculatively attributed to false-positive tests. In this paper, we critically review current evidence that SARS-CoV-2 had been circulating prior to December of 2019, and emphasise how, despite some scientific limitations, this hypothesis should no longer be ignored and considered sufficient to warrant further larger-scale studies to determine its veracity
2019-20 coronavirus outbreak · Economics · Epistemology · Outbreak · Pandemic · Pathology · Skepticism · Timeline · Warrant · COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies · COVID-19 epidemiological studies · History · Medicine · Psychology · SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research · Virology
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |