China set to publish data linking raccoon dogs to origins of covid 

It has been suspected before that animals such as raccoon dogs were being illegally sold at the seafood market in Wuhan.

Chinese health authorities are expected to publish data which could link raccoon dogs sold at a seafood market to the origins of covid-19.

On Saturday the World Health Organization said presentations by the China Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), along with international researchers, indicated there is new data from the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan. 

Samples were taken from stalls and wastewater around January 2020.

This data “is in the process of being re-submitted for publication to [science journal] Nature by China CDC” according to a WHO group examining the pandemic origins.

“Analyses of these data suggest that apart from SARS-CoV-2 sequences, some samples also contained human DNA, as well as mitochondrial DNA of several animal species, including some that are known to be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2,” the Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO) said.

This included DNA from wild raccoon dogs, Malaysian porcupine, and bamboo rats among others, in SARS-CoV-2 positive environmental samples.

SAGO said the data could provide “potential leads” in identifying potential sources of human infection in this market.

Last month assessments about potential origin links to an accidental leak from Wuhan Institute of Virology were shared by the FBI and US government departments.

This institute has been studying coronaviruses in bats. The WHO said earlier this week however no new evidence has been presented to them around this.

It has been suspected before that certain animals were being illegally sold at the seafood market. This new analysis suggests raccoon dogs and other species were present shortly before it was cleared on January 1 2020 when public health measures took effect. 

The new analysis follows publication of a pre-print study in Nature last year by the same team of Chinese scientists, the WHO SAGO said.

This showed of 1,30 samples collected from stalls and sewage around the market in early 2020 some 73 of 923 environmental samples tested positive for SARS-CoV-2-specific RT-qPCR (a gold-standard diagnostic method).

No virus was detected in 457 animal samples. These included animal bodies, frozen animal carcases and covered 18 species but did not include racoon dogs.

However, this latest data is adding to that picture, SAGO said.

“The presence of high levels of raccoon dog mitochondrial DNA in the metagenomics data from environmental samples identified in the new analysis, suggest that raccoon dog and other animals may have been present before the market was cleaned as part of the public health intervention,” they said.

Raccoon dogs are fox-sized mammals which some resemblance to the North American raccoon but are not closely related. Native to eastern Asia, they are also found across Europe following a history of fur-farming. They were added to the EU list of invasive species in 2017. 

The European Wilderness Society has warned despite its "cute and fluffy" appearence, studies suggest the racoon dogs can carry parasites which could infect humans.