A new analysis of samples collected from a Wuhan seafood market has suggested for the first time a concrete link between some of the wild animals being illegally sold there and the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Atlantic reported on Thursday. The evidence points to raccoon dogs as the likely culprit, according to the analysis, which found that the animals may have been carrying and shedding the virus near the end of 2019. The research was conducted by an international team of virologists, genomicists, and evolutionary biologists, according to The Atlantic—and though it’s not 100 percent definitive proof, it’s “a really strong indication that animals at the market were infected,” said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist involved in the investigation. “There’s really no other explanation that makes any sense.” The magazine’s report comes just days after an Economist/YouGov poll showed that nearly two-thirds of Americans favor the lab leak theory over natural occurrence. It was reported last month that the U.S. Energy Department had concluded—albeit with “low confidence”—that the virus likely emerged from a lab. Intelligence agencies and experts elsewhere remain divided.
