Latest news with #MarietjieVenter
Canada News.Net
01-07-2025
- Health
- Canada News.Net
WHO ends probe into pandemic origins without answers
]LONDON, U.K.: A World Health Organization (WHO) expert group investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic released its final report on June 27 with an inconclusive outcome: scientists still don't know how the pandemic began. At a press conference, Marietjie Venter, who chaired the group, said most available scientific evidence supports the theory that the virus originated in animals and later jumped to humans. This aligns with the findings of a previous WHO team in 2021, which concluded that the virus likely spread from bats to humans through another animal. That group also said a lab leak was "extremely unlikely." Venter noted that despite more than three years of work, the group couldn't obtain the data needed to assess whether COVID-19 might have resulted from a laboratory accident. They repeatedly requested hundreds of genetic sequences and detailed information about lab safety procedures from the Chinese government, but these requests were not fulfilled. "As a result, we could not investigate or rule out the lab-leak theory," she said. "It remains speculative, driven more by politics than science." The 27-member group did not reach a consensus; one member resigned earlier this week, and three others asked to have their names removed from the report. Venter also said there was no evidence the virus was genetically engineered or that it had been circulating outside China before December 2019. "Until more scientific data emerges, the origins of SARS-CoV-2 will remain uncertain," she said, using the scientific name for the COVID-19 virus. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called it a "moral imperative" to determine the origin of the pandemic, which has killed at least 20 million people, caused over $10 trillion in global economic losses, and disrupted the lives of billions. In 2023, an Associated Press investigation revealed that China had blocked both domestic and international efforts to trace the virus's origins early in the outbreak. It also suggested that WHO may have missed key opportunities to probe further at the time. U.S. President Donald Trump has long blamed a Chinese lab for the pandemic, though a U.S. intelligence review found no sufficient evidence to confirm that theory. China has consistently denied the possibility of lab leaks and instead has called for investigations in other countries. Meanwhile, scientists last year identified several animals—such as raccoon dogs, civet cats, and bamboo rats—as possible intermediaries in transmitting the virus to humans.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Will we ever know for sure how COVID-19 began? Not without more data from China, WHO says
Scientists still aren't sure how the COVID-19 pandemic – the worst health emergency in a century – began. That was the unsatisfying conclusion from an expert group charged by the World Health Organization (WHO) to investigate the pandemic's origins in its final report. Marietjie Venter, the group's chair, said at a press briefing that most scientific data supports the hypothesis that the new coronavirus jumped to humans from animals. That was also the conclusion drawn by the first WHO expert group that investigated the pandemic's origins in 2021, when scientists concluded the virus likely spread from bats to humans, via another intermediary animal. At the time, WHO said a lab leak was 'extremely unlikely'. Related Five years after COVID appeared, mysteries remain. Here's what we know Venter said that after more than three years of work, WHO's expert group was unable to get the necessary data to evaluate whether or not COVID-19 was the result of a lab accident, despite repeated requests for hundreds of genetic sequences and more detailed biosecurity information that were made to the Chinese government. 'Therefore, this hypothesis could not be investigated or excluded,' she said. 'It was deemed to be very speculative, based on political opinions and not backed up by science'. She said that the 27-member group did not reach a consensus; one member resigned earlier this week and three others asked for their names to be removed from the report. Venter said there was no evidence to prove that COVID-19 had been manipulated in a lab, nor was there any indication that the virus had been spreading before December 2019 anywhere outside of China. Related Italy honours COVID-19 victims on remembrance day, five years after pandemic hit 'Until more scientific data becomes available, the origins of how SARS-CoV-2 entered human populations will remain inconclusive,' Venter said, referring to the scientific name for the COVID-19 virus. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was a 'moral imperative' to determine how COVID began, noting that the virus killed at least 20 million people, wiped at least $10 trillion (€8.8 trillion) from the global economy and upended the lives of billions of people. Last year, the AP found that the Chinese government froze meaningful domestic and international efforts to trace the virus' origins in the first weeks of the outbreak in 2020 and that WHO itself may have missed early opportunities to investigate how COVID-19 began. Related New CIA assessment claims COVID-19 virus 'probably' came from Chinese laboratory US President Donald Trump has long blamed the emergence of the coronavirus on a laboratory accident in China, while a US intelligence analysis found there was insufficient evidence to prove the theory. Chinese officials have repeatedly dismissed the idea that the pandemic could have started in a lab, saying that the search for its origins should be conducted in other countries. Last September, researchers zeroed in on a short list of animals they think might have spread COVID-19 to humans, including racoon dogs, civet cats, and bamboo rats.
Euronews
30-06-2025
- Health
- Euronews
We may never know for sure how COVID-19 began, WHO says
Scientists still aren't sure how the COVID-19 pandemic – the worst health emergency in a century – began. That was the unsatisfying conclusion from an expert group charged by the World Health Organization (WHO) to investigate the pandemic's origins in its final report. Marietjie Venter, the group's chair, said at a press briefing that most scientific data supports the hypothesis that the new coronavirus jumped to humans from animals. That was also the conclusion drawn by the first WHO expert group that investigated the pandemic's origins in 2021, when scientists concluded the virus likely spread from bats to humans, via another intermediary animal. At the time, WHO said a lab leak was 'extremely unlikely'. Venter said that after more than three years of work, WHO's expert group was unable to get the necessary data to evaluate whether or not COVID-19 was the result of a lab accident, despite repeated requests for hundreds of genetic sequences and more detailed biosecurity information that were made to the Chinese government. 'Therefore, this hypothesis could not be investigated or excluded,' she said. 'It was deemed to be very speculative, based on political opinions and not backed up by science'. She said that the 27-member group did not reach a consensus; one member resigned earlier this week and three others asked for their names to be removed from the report. Venter said there was no evidence to prove that COVID-19 had been manipulated in a lab, nor was there any indication that the virus had been spreading before December 2019 anywhere outside of China. 'Until more scientific data becomes available, the origins of how SARS-CoV-2 entered human populations will remain inconclusive,' Venter said, referring to the scientific name for the COVID-19 virus. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was a 'moral imperative' to determine how COVID began, noting that the virus killed at least 20 million people, wiped at least $10 trillion (€8.8 trillion) from the global economy and upended the lives of billions of people. Last year, the AP found that the Chinese government froze meaningful domestic and international efforts to trace the virus' origins in the first weeks of the outbreak in 2020 and that WHO itself may have missed early opportunities to investigate how COVID-19 began. US President Donald Trump has long blamed the emergence of the coronavirus on a laboratory accident in China, while a US intelligence analysis found there was insufficient evidence to prove the theory. Chinese officials have repeatedly dismissed the idea that the pandemic could have started in a lab, saying that the search for its origins should be conducted in other countries. Last September, researchers zeroed in on a short list of animals they think might have spread COVID-19 to humans, including racoon dogs, civet cats, and bamboo rats.
1News
29-06-2025
- Health
- 1News
WHO fails to find a definitive answer for how Covid-19 began
An expert group charged by the World Health Organization to investigate how the Covid-19 pandemic started released its final report, reaching an unsatisfying conclusion: Scientists still aren't sure how the worst health emergency in a century began. At a press briefing Marietjie Venter, the group's chair, said that most scientific data supports the hypothesis that the new coronavirus jumped to humans from animals. That was also the conclusion drawn by the first WHO expert group that investigated the pandemic's origins in 2021, when scientists concluded the virus likely spread from bats to humans, via another intermediary animal. At the time, WHO said a lab leak was 'extremely unlikely'. Venter said that after more than three years of work, WHO's expert group was unable to get the necessary data to evaluate whether or not Covid-19 was the result of a lab accident, despite repeated requests for hundreds of genetic sequences and more detailed biosecurity information that were made to the Chinese government. 'Therefore, this hypothesis could not be investigated or excluded,' she said. 'It was deemed to be very speculative, based on political opinions and not backed up by science.' ADVERTISEMENT She said that the 27-member group did not reach a consensus; one member resigned earlier this week and three others asked for their names to be removed from the report. Venter said there was no evidence to prove that Covid-19 had been manipulated in a lab, nor was there any indication that the virus had been spreading before December 2019 anywhere outside of China. 'Until more scientific data becomes available, the origins of how SARS-CoV-2 entered human populations will remain inconclusive,' Venter said, referring to the scientific name for the Covid-19 virus. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was a 'moral imperative' to determine how Covid began, noting that the virus killed at least 20 million people, wiped at least US$10 trillion (NZ$16.5 trillion) from the global economy and upended the lives of billions. Last year, the AP found that the Chinese government froze meaningful domestic and international efforts to trace the virus' origins in the first weeks of the outbreak in 2020 and that WHO itself may have missed early opportunities to investigate how Covid-19 began. US President Donald Trump has long blamed the emergence of the coronavirus on a laboratory accident in China, while a US intelligence analysis found there was insufficient evidence to prove the theory. Chinese officials have repeatedly dismissed the idea that the pandemic could have started in a lab, saying that the search for its origins should be conducted in other countries. ADVERTISEMENT Last September, researchers zeroed in on a short list of animals they think might have spread Covid-19 to humans, including racoon dogs, civet cats and bamboo rats.
Saudi Gazette
28-06-2025
- Health
- Saudi Gazette
WHO says COVID-19 origins remain inconclusive due to lack of data
GENEVA — A World Health Organization (WHO) expert group tasked with investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic has released its final report, concluding that the origins of the virus remain inconclusive despite more than three years of scientific work. The group, chaired by Marietjie Venter, stated that most available data still points to a natural spillover of the virus from animals to humans, echoing conclusions from the WHO's earlier 2021 mission that suggested transmission from bats to humans via another animal host. However, the group said it was unable to access sufficient data from China to fully assess the possibility of a lab-related incident. 'Despite repeated requests, key genetic sequences and biosecurity details were not provided by Chinese authorities,' Venter said at a press briefing. 'Therefore, the hypothesis of a laboratory accident could neither be confirmed nor excluded. It remains speculative and unsupported by scientific evidence.' The group also found no indication that the virus had been circulating outside of China before December 2019, and there was no evidence that SARS-CoV-2 was deliberately manipulated in a lab. The report, which comes after years of geopolitical tension over the origins of the virus, highlighted internal disagreements within the expert group. One member resigned prior to publication and three others requested their names be removed from the final document. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reiterated that understanding the origins of the pandemic is a 'moral imperative,' citing the more than 20 million lives lost, the trillions of dollars in economic disruption, and the global upheaval caused by COVID-19. The findings also reflect longstanding challenges in international scientific cooperation. An earlier investigation by the Associated Press revealed that China halted key efforts to trace the virus' origin in early 2020, and that the WHO missed early chances to launch a comprehensive probe. While U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump, have long promoted the lab-leak theory, a 2021 U.S. intelligence review concluded there was not enough evidence to support or dismiss it. Chinese officials continue to reject the notion of a lab origin and argue that origin-tracing efforts should be expanded to other countries. Scientists involved in the WHO-led investigation have also identified a list of animals that could have served as intermediate hosts, including raccoon dogs, civet cats, and bamboo rats. — Agencies
