A new study linked the first confirmed symptomatic COVID-19 case to a female seafood vendor at a Wuhan food market. A leading expert in tracing the evolution of viruses at the University of Arizona made the claim after discovering the latest discrepancies in the study titled "Dissecting the Early COVID-19 Cases in Wuhan."
WUHAN, CHINA - FEBRUARY 9: (CHINA OUT) The view of the Huanan seafood market on February 9, 2021, in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. the World Health Organization (WHO) team tasked with investigating the origins of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is to hold a news conference in Wuhan. With no recorded cases of COVID-19 community transmissions since May 2020, life for residents in Wuhan is gradually returning to normal.
First Known COVID-19 Case: A Seafood Vendor
Michael Worobey, a virus expert from the University of Arizona, said in a New York Times report that the first victim was not Mr. Chen. In a video broadcast by The Paper, a seafood seller named Wei Guixian began experiencing symptoms around Dec. 11. She also informed The Wall Street Journal that she first felt unwell on Dec. 10.
Dr. Worobey discovered that hospitals reported more than a dozen such cases before Dec. 30, the day Wuhan officials warned doctors to be on the watch for market linkages.
He discovered that before Dec. 30, Wuhan Central Hospital and Hubei Xinhua Hospital identified seven instances of unexplained pneumonia that would later be verified as Covid-19. Four out of every seven cases at each hospital were related to the market.
Dr. Worobey contended that he could rule out the likelihood that ascertainment bias skewed the results in the market's favor by focusing solely on these cases.
Others, though, say it's far from likely that the pandemic started at the market.
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What Happened in the Chinese Market?
Several doctors claimed that a cluster of early symptomatic cases at the western section of Huanan Market provides strong evidence of a live-animal market origin of the pandemic. Raccoon dogs (which are susceptible to coronaviruses) were caged in the said market section.
Mr. Chen, a 41-year-old male accountant, who had no links to the market, and resided 18.6 miles south of Huanan Market, was initially reported to have the first case of COVID-19. He fell ill with COVID-19 sometime in December 2020.
He indicated that his Covid-19 symptoms began with a fever on Dec. 16. A dental issue connected to the retention of baby teeth into adulthood made him sick on Dec. 8.
"He believed that he may have been infected in a hospital (presumably during his dental emergency) or on the subway during his commute," the study said per The Independent's report.
According to the same report, the patient's symptoms started after other cases in employees at Huanan Market. That incident made the female seafood seller there the earliest known case, with disease onset Dec. 11.
While physicians at Hubei Xinhua Hospital reported Mr. Chen's sickness began on Dec. 8, a top doctor at Wuhan Central Hospital, where Mr. Chen was treated, told a Chinese news site that he began to show symptoms on Dec. 16.
When asked about Mr. Chen's case, China's National Health Commission stated it stood behind Liang Wannian, the Chinese side's head in the World Health Organization-China probe, leading the interview with the Hubei Xinhua Hospital physicians. Mr. Liang said at a press conference in February that the first Covid instance appeared on Dec. 8 and was "unrelated" to the Huanan market.
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