The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that the quest to determine the origin of COVID-19 remains incomplete, with critical data still missing from the investigation.

Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized on Friday that “all hypotheses must remain on the table” regarding how SARS-CoV-2 first emerged. His comments followed the release of a final report by a WHO-appointed expert panel that concluded with no definitive answer.

“We continue to urge China—and any nation with relevant information—to share it transparently, for the sake of global preparedness and public health,” Tedros said.

The pandemic, which began in 2020 after the first known cases surfaced in Wuhan, China, has claimed millions of lives and severely impacted economies worldwide. In 2021, WHO established the Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), comprising 27 international experts.

On Friday, SAGO chair Marietjie Venter said current scientific evidence largely supports the theory that the virus likely jumped from animals to humans. However, the group was unable to examine the possibility of a laboratory-related incident, citing a lack of access to specific data requested from Chinese authorities.

“That line of inquiry could neither be validated nor dismissed,” Venter said, explaining that the lab-leak hypothesis remains speculative and politically charged, lacking robust scientific support.

She further clarified that there is no credible evidence to suggest the virus was genetically engineered or circulating outside China before December 2019.

An earlier joint WHO-China investigation in 2021 had leaned toward the zoonotic transmission theory, deeming a lab origin “extremely unlikely.” Still, the process was later criticized for insufficient transparency and limited investigative access.

SAGO’s report reinforces the zoonotic spillover theory—possibly from bats directly or through an intermediary host—but concedes that “until more scientific evidence becomes available, the origin of SARS-CoV-2 will remain inconclusive.”

Venter stressed that understanding the virus’s genesis is vital to preventing future pandemics and minimizing human and economic tolls.

Source: Al Jazeera 

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