TIMES.KY

Cayman Islands, Caribbeanand International News
Monday, Nov 11, 2024

China accuses WHO of 'attempting to smear' Beijing after boss says data about COVID origins 'should have been shared years ago'

China accuses WHO of 'attempting to smear' Beijing after boss says data about COVID origins 'should have been shared years ago'

Samples of genetic material collected at a market in Wuhan - where the first cases were detected - showed DNA from raccoon dogs mingled with the virus. Chinese health officials defended their search for the source of the virus.

China has accused the World Health Organisation (WHO) of "attempting to smear" Beijing after the global health body's boss said data linking the origins of coronavirus to raccoon dogs should have been shared years ago.

Samples of genetic material collected at a market in Wuhan - where the first cases were detected in late 2019 - showed DNA from raccoon dogs mingled with the virus.

Last month the WHO's director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the newly disclosed genetic material "should have been shared three years ago".

Chinese health officials defended their search for the source of the virus, branding the WHO chief's remarks as "offensive and disrespectful".

Shen Hongbing, director of the China Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, said the WHO was "attempting to smear China" and should avoid helping others "politicise COVID-19".

"As a responsible country and as scientists, we have always actively shared research results with scientists from around the world," he said at a news conference.

Raccoon dogs have been linked to the origins of COVID


Outbreak origins still debated


The origins of the outbreak are still being debated and have become the focus of bitter political disputes.

Many scientists believe the virus jumped from animals to humans at the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan, the location of the first known COVID outbreak.

However, there have been suggestions it came from a lab leak in the city, which houses several laboratories - including China's top facility for collecting viruses.

The ruling Communist Party has tried to deflect criticism of its handling of the outbreak by spreading uncertainty about its origins, with officials repeating anti-US conspiracy theories the virus was created in Washington and smuggled into China.

The government has also said the virus may have entered China on mail or food shipments - though scientists have seen no evidence to support that theory.

Chinese officials initially suppressed information about the Wuhan outbreak in 2019 and punished a doctor who warned others of the new disease.

The ruling party reversed course in early 2020 and shut down access to major cities and international travel in a futile attempt to contain the disease.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology where it is claimed COVID-19 may have escaped from


The genetic material the WHO referred to was uploaded to a global database recently but collected in 2020 at the Wuhan market where wildlife was sold.

Scientists said it adds to evidence for the hypothesis coronavirus came from animals rather than a lab leak - though it does not resolve the question of where it started. They said the virus might have spread to raccoon dogs from humans.

Last month the director of the FBI said the agency believes COVID-19 "most likely" came from a lab leak in China, though four other US agencies, along with a national intelligence panel, still believe the pandemic was likely the result of natural transmission, while two are undecided.

The information was removed by Chinese officials from the database after foreign scientists asked the CDC about it, but it had been copied by a French expert and shared with researchers outside of China.

Mr Shen said scientists investigated the possibility of a lab leak and "fully shared our research and data without any concealment or reservation".

He said the source of COVID-19 had yet to be found but noted it took years to identify the AIDS virus and its origins are still unclear.

"Some forces and figures who instigate and participate in politicising the traceability issue and attempting to smear China should not assume that the vision of the scientific community around the world will be blinded by their clumsy manipulation," Mr Shen said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

TIMES.KY
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×