A new look at the cause of the Covid 19 virus, five years later. Discovered evidence shines light on multiple possible theories. 

By Manu T. Reistetter – 8th grade. 
In late 2019, the world grinded to a halt as the newly surfaced coronavirus, Covid 19, spread rapidly. The highly contagious disease put the glode into a universal lockdown for almost three years. With the sickness having such a huge influence on the modern world, it surprised me to learn that the proven origin of the virus had not been discovered. Even to this day, there are still only a few theories that are constantly debated over. 

The most believed and well known speculation on the origin of Covid is the idea that the illness came from animals and was transmitted to humans through a meat market. This hypothesis is also known as the “natural origin” theory. The animal in question is still unknown, but it is believed that the virus originated from bats then transported to humans through another animal. Some examples of this would be how the Ebola and Marburg viruses were transmitted through bats then to other animals like camels of chimpanzees and finally to humans.

 Even the very well known virus, Rabbies, originated in bats then was spread between dogs and even humans. The first ever case of SARS-CoV-2 (Scientific Term for Covid 19), was in the Chinese city of Wuhan, near the city’s biggest meat market. Wuhan is almost like a transportation hub with there being many railways connecting it to the rest of China. Sadly, this made it easy for the highly contagious disease to quickly spread across the country and eventually the world.In these meat markets, many exotic and unusual animals are sold there to be eaten, so the infected animal wasn’t easy to find. Although, relatively new evidence was found in 2022 about the origin point of Covid in the food market. This evidence being samples of the disease found on some cages and the surfaces the animals are slaughtered at  near the cages of racoons and red foxes.

 Scientists who weren’t involved in the investigations say that the research papers written by the investigators is enough evidence to fully prove the theory of natural origin and more than enough to disprove the lab leak or any other popular conspiracy theories surrounding the Virus. 

Even with this existing speculation, there still isn’t enough evidence to fully disprove the other existing theories. There are still many other existing theories for the origin of the pandemic that swept across the globe like a wave, putting us all into a multiple year long lockdown. With a virus that influenced the history of our century so much, there are going to be many theories that seem almost impossible and are there to throw you off. One of the other most believed theories is the lab leak theory. 

This theory originated when people discovered that there was a lab that researched coronaviruses in Wuhan. The institute has been studying coronaviruses in bats for years. Plus, the institute is only a 40 minute drive from the human wet market where cases first emerged. A World Health Organization (WHO) was sent to Wuhan to investigate the lab, although they didn’t find much ground breaking evidence.

 This hypothesis gained even more attention in the early days of the pandemic when President Donald Trump spoke on the theory to the public. Because of the publicity, this was the first theory to be disputed in the news, it started early in the pandemic. Although, the Chinese government states that the lab born virus theory is very unlikely. This hypothesis is still highly disputed among scientists. Doctors like Dr. Peter Daszak who studied the topic in depth stated “Our focus needs to shift to those supply chains to the (Huanan Seafood) Market”. He expresses this since that theory currently has the most evidence behind it. In addition to the limited amount of evidence, people on the internet and other sources created conspiracies surrounding China creating the Virus and released it as a weapon.  In response to the lab leak theory being spread by the United States, Beijing accused Washinton of “political manipulation”. 

The Theory with The Most Probability 

 In the current day, the origin of the virus is yet to be defined. Even after many thorough investigations, there is still a limit to the knowledge available to the public. Once rounded up, there is the highest quantity of evidence directed towards the Wuhan Meat Market Theory. This hypothesis, suggesting that the virus was transmitted from an animal to humans, had the highest amount of digging done into it. Additionally, most other theories surrounding the case were ruled out as conspiracies, even the highly discussed and popular lab leak theory. Whilst still maintaining traction online, the Chinese government has stated that they view the accusation as a targeted attack.

We may never know the truth behind the universally controversial mystery, although there will always be theories. Hopefully someday in the future the origins of Covid be discovered and we could have a definitive answer.