. Earth Science News .
EPIDEMICS
WHO expert slams US pandemic intel as curbs tightened in Europe
By Laurie Chen, with AFP Bureaus
Wuhan, China (AFP) Feb 10, 2021

A WHO expert sent to China to probe the coronavirus hit out at US intelligence on Covid-19 as his team headed home with few answers about the origin of a pandemic that was forcing more clampdowns in some of the hardest-hit parts of the world.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was set to seek an extension of strict virus curbs, as the European Commission chief addressed the stumbling vaccination rollout on the continent -- which accounts for a third of the 2.3 million Covid-19 deaths worldwide.

The coronavirus has infected close to 107 million people, devastating the global economy, and questions over the handling of the initial outbreak in central China have sparked an intense diplomatic row between Washington and Beijing.

The WHO mission to the ground zero city of Wuhan wrapped up Tuesday without any concrete answers, with Washington again expressing scepticism about China's transparency and cooperation.

But WHO team member Peter Daszak tweeted: "Please don't rely too much on US intel: increasingly disengaged under Trump & frankly wrong on many aspects."

He said they worked "flat out under the most politically charged environment possible".

China had repeatedly delayed the WHO trip, and bristled at accusations of a lack of transparency.

Beijing warned Washington not to "politicise" the mission after the White House demanded a "robust" probe.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said Tuesday that the United States supports the investigation.

But when asked if China had fully cooperated with the WHO, he said: "The jury's still out."

The WHO team did not identify which animal transferred the coronavirus to humans, but said there was no indication it was circulating in Wuhan before December 2019, when the first official cases were recorded.

WHO expert Peter Ben Embarek also scotched the controversial theory that the virus may have leaked from a lab in Wuhan.

- Vaccine, infection worries in Europe -

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the continent's race to manufacture vaccines must accelerate to catch up with scientific breakthroughs and outpace emerging variants, but defended the bloc's overall strategy.

"We underestimated the difficulty related to mass production," she told the European Parliament in Brussels.

"Normally, it takes five to 10 years to produce a new vaccine. We did it in 10 months. This is a huge scientific success, and we should be rightly proud -- but in a way, science has outstripped industry."

Vaccine supply issues have already caused a diplomatic row after AstraZeneca said it would not be able to immediately ship the doses it promised to Britain and the EU.

At the same time, the volume of infections across the continent is adding to the pressure on its leadership.

A stricter lockdown will be imposed in Greece from Thursday -- in particular in the Athens region -- as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned that his country was facing a third Covid-19 wave.

Wary of infection numbers exploding again, Merkel will seek to extend strict curbs until at least March 14, according to a draft text seen by AFP, as fatigue grows with the partial lockdown in Europe's top economy.

Immunisation efforts are being ramped in other parts of the world with a number of vaccines.

Peru on Tuesday began administering shots developed by China's Sinopharm, while Argentina approved the Indian-made version of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

South Korea on Wednesday also authorised the AstraZeneca shot for people aged 18 and above, including over-65s.

A number of European countries have not authorised the AstraZeneca vaccine for the elderly -- considered the demographic most vulnerable to Covid-19.

Japan will start vaccinations next week -- most likely the Pfizer/BioNTech jab -- but it is scrambling to secure suitable syringes so doses won't go to waste.

- Valentine's Day fears -

Along with mass vaccinations, researchers and engineers around the world are searching for other ways to help end the pandemic and return life to normal -- especially with regards to international travel.

Tech-savvy Estonia is working on a pilot project with the WHO on how a globally recognised electronic vaccine certificate might work, including addressing concerns about security and privacy.

A more immediate concern for authorities in many countries this week is Valentine's Day, with fears that the upcoming celebrations could lead to a surge in infections.

Authorities in Thailand's capital Bangkok announced the city would not register marriages on Valentine's Day, a popular day for weddings.

In Brussels, however, where restaurants are closed, some hotels have converted rooms into private dining salons for two.

"We're over the moon about being here tonight, just like in a restaurant," said Marine Deroo, a 34-year-old who tried out the concept ahead of Valentine's Day.

The WHO's China mission: Five questions still unanswered
Wuhan, China (AFP) Feb 10, 2021 - The World Health Organization expert mission to China ended this week without finding the source of the coronavirus that has killed over 2.3 million worldwide.

But the team of foreign experts did agree the virus likely jumped from bats to an unknown animal species, before being transmitted to humans.

It also concluded that it was "extremely unlikely" that the virus came from a high-security lab in the central city of Wuhan, appearing to quash a number of theories linking the city's virology institute to the outbreak.

Huge global pressure and scrutiny trailed the team during its probe in China, which mission member Peter Daszak described as working "flat out under the most politically charged environment possible."

After a mission that lasted nearly a month, here are five things we still don't know about the virus' origin:

The animal source

Experts said tests were done on tens of thousands of samples from wild, farmed and domestic animals across China -- but none of them contained the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19.

However, Dutch virologist and WHO team member Marion Koopmans said that species more susceptible to the virus -- including bamboo rats, badgers and rabbits -- were sold at Wuhan's Huanan market, the site of an early virus cluster, and could be an entry point for trace-back investigations.

British zoologist Daszak also said after the briefing that new bat viruses discovered in Thailand and Cambodia, "shifts our focus to Southeast Asia".

"I think one day we'll find that (reservoir), it might take some time... but it will be out there without a doubt," he told reporters.

Raw data

Concern has been expressed about the scientists' access to data in China, amid accusations that Beijing downplayed the initial severity of the outbreak in Wuhan in late 2019.

Danish epidemiologist and team member Thea Kolsen Fischer said after the briefing that the WHO team were not given raw data, but instead relied on earlier analysis by Chinese scientists.

In most cases, she said, it would be usual for outsiders to get access to "aggregated data".

WHO team members said they were granted full access to the sites and individuals they requested to visit.

Cold chain transmission

Beijing has repeatedly floated the theory that the virus was brought to China through packaging on cold chain products like imported frozen seafood, linking these to recent domestic outbreaks.

WHO emergencies chief Mike Ryan had previously said that there is "no evidence that food or the food chain is participating in transmission".

But in China the WHO mission appeared to give some weight to the theory.

The head of the Chinese side of the mission, Liang Wannian, said the virus can travel long distances on the surface of cold chain products, and environmental samples from Huanan market -- which sold frozen wild animals and seafood -- showed "widespread contamination" of the virus.

But WHO team lead Peter Ben Embarek cautioned that it is still unclear whether the virus can transmit to humans from contaminated cold chain surfaces.

Origin outside China?

Beijing has repeatedly called for the WHO to launch an origin tracing mission in the US, and foreign ministry officials have drawn attention to conspiracy theories about virus leaks from an American military germ research lab.

Eager to deflect international criticism over its initial handling of the outbreak, China has also amplified studies suggesting some Covid-19 cases emerged in Italy and other countries in late 2019.

But in releasing the report's conclusions, Koopmans said these studies "do not provide full evidence of earlier circulation" outside China in early December.

However, she conceded that experts "should really go and search for evidence of earlier circulation."

What next?

Koopmans said farms supplying wild animals to Wuhan's Huanan market deserve further research.

In addition to sampling more wild animal reservoirs -- especially bats -- in and outside China, Ben Embarek suggested re-testing samples using "new approaches" to blood tests and looking for more early cases that went undetected in Wuhan in December 2019.

China, meanwhile, is keen that the next stage of the virus origin investigation takes place in another country.


Related Links
Epidemics on Earth - Bird Flu, HIV/AIDS, Ebola


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


EPIDEMICS
China delivers 600,000 vaccine doses to ally Cambodia
Phnom Penh (AFP) Feb 7, 2021
China delivered 600,000 doses of its Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine to ally Cambodia on Sunday, making the kingdom the latest country to use Chinese jabs despite concerns about their efficacy compared to Western alternatives. Cambodian leader Hun Sen announced last month that China would donate one million doses of its coronavirus vaccine to the kingdom - which will cover 500,000 people because two doses are required. On Sunday, the strongman premier greeted the arrival of the first batch at Ph ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

EPIDEMICS
'Run!': India glacier disaster survivors recount tunnel escape

Anger as hopes fade for Indian workers after glacier disaster

S.African women turn to guns to fight assault, murder scourge

Digital platform helps rescue services during natural disasters

EPIDEMICS
Coca-Cola to sell soda in 100% recycled plastic in US

Electronic Arts buys mobile game maker Glu for $2.1 bn

Discoveries at the edge of the periodic table: first ever measurements of einsteinium

Sony forecasts record profit after PlayStation 5 launch

EPIDEMICS
Study: About half of global wastewater is treated

La Nina climate cycle has peaked: UN

India disaster highlights pressure on Asia's great rivers

Hacker tries to dump chemical into Florida city's water

EPIDEMICS
India glacier disaster leaves 26 dead, workers hunt for survivors

200 missing in India after burst glacier causes flash flooding

Hearings on Greenland mining project open amid threats

Sea ice kept oxygen from reaching deep ocean during last ice age

EPIDEMICS
Hive thinking: Beekeeping makes a buzz in Ivory Coast

Improving photosynthesis: our best bet to create a food secure world

Pepsi, Beyond Meat cook up snack partnership

Small farmers 'need more climate aid to ward off famines': UN

EPIDEMICS
Batik dye causes blood-red flood in Indonesia; Escaped tiger captured

At least 24 dead in Morocco underground factory flood: media

Cyclone Eloise death toll rises to 21 : UN

One dead, five missing as fresh cyclone batters Fiji

EPIDEMICS
Fresh calls for protests emerge in Nigeria's biggest city

Swedes say have deployed in European elite force in Mali

Kidnapped Chinese workers freed in Nigeria: police

Human-elephant conflict in Kenya heightens with increase in crop-raiding

EPIDEMICS
Some of our gut microbiota predates the human-Neanderthal split

Our gut-brain connection

Pace of prehistoric human innovation could be revealed by 'linguistic thermometer'

Milk-stained teeth reveal early dairy consumption in Africa









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.