Latest news with #Sars-CoV-2
The Advertiser
10 hours ago
- Health
- The Advertiser
WHO says probe into COVID-19 virus origin still ongoing
The World Health Organisation says efforts to determine the origins of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic, are still ongoing and incomplete. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said "all hypotheses must remain on the table" to determine the cause of the virus, also known as SARS-CoV-2, after an expert group investigating its origins reached an unsatisfying conclusion in its final report released on Friday. "As things stand, all hypotheses must remain on the table, including zoonotic spillover and lab leak," Dr Tedros told a press conference, referring to the two main hypotheses as to how the pandemic began. The WHO Scientific Advisory Group reported progress in understanding COVID-19's origins but noted that critical information required to fully assess all hypotheses remains unavailable. The agency said it requested China share hundreds of genetic sequences from COVID-19 patients early in the pandemic, detailed information on animals sold at Wuhan markets, and details on research and biosafety conditions at Wuhan laboratories. WHO said China has not yet shared the information. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The first cases were detected in Wuhan in China in late 2019, and understanding where the Sars-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 came from is key to preventing future pandemics. In 2021, Dr Tedros launched the WHO Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), a panel of 27 independent international experts. Marietjie Venter, the group's chair, said on Friday that most scientific data supports the hypothesis that the new coronavirus jumped to humans from animals. But she added that after more than three years of work, SAGO was unable to get the necessary data to evaluate whether or not COVID was the result of a lab accident. "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." Venter 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. Agencies The World Health Organisation says efforts to determine the origins of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic, are still ongoing and incomplete. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said "all hypotheses must remain on the table" to determine the cause of the virus, also known as SARS-CoV-2, after an expert group investigating its origins reached an unsatisfying conclusion in its final report released on Friday. "As things stand, all hypotheses must remain on the table, including zoonotic spillover and lab leak," Dr Tedros told a press conference, referring to the two main hypotheses as to how the pandemic began. The WHO Scientific Advisory Group reported progress in understanding COVID-19's origins but noted that critical information required to fully assess all hypotheses remains unavailable. The agency said it requested China share hundreds of genetic sequences from COVID-19 patients early in the pandemic, detailed information on animals sold at Wuhan markets, and details on research and biosafety conditions at Wuhan laboratories. WHO said China has not yet shared the information. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The first cases were detected in Wuhan in China in late 2019, and understanding where the Sars-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 came from is key to preventing future pandemics. In 2021, Dr Tedros launched the WHO Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), a panel of 27 independent international experts. Marietjie Venter, the group's chair, said on Friday that most scientific data supports the hypothesis that the new coronavirus jumped to humans from animals. But she added that after more than three years of work, SAGO was unable to get the necessary data to evaluate whether or not COVID was the result of a lab accident. "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." Venter 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. Agencies The World Health Organisation says efforts to determine the origins of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic, are still ongoing and incomplete. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said "all hypotheses must remain on the table" to determine the cause of the virus, also known as SARS-CoV-2, after an expert group investigating its origins reached an unsatisfying conclusion in its final report released on Friday. "As things stand, all hypotheses must remain on the table, including zoonotic spillover and lab leak," Dr Tedros told a press conference, referring to the two main hypotheses as to how the pandemic began. The WHO Scientific Advisory Group reported progress in understanding COVID-19's origins but noted that critical information required to fully assess all hypotheses remains unavailable. The agency said it requested China share hundreds of genetic sequences from COVID-19 patients early in the pandemic, detailed information on animals sold at Wuhan markets, and details on research and biosafety conditions at Wuhan laboratories. WHO said China has not yet shared the information. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The first cases were detected in Wuhan in China in late 2019, and understanding where the Sars-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 came from is key to preventing future pandemics. In 2021, Dr Tedros launched the WHO Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), a panel of 27 independent international experts. Marietjie Venter, the group's chair, said on Friday that most scientific data supports the hypothesis that the new coronavirus jumped to humans from animals. But she added that after more than three years of work, SAGO was unable to get the necessary data to evaluate whether or not COVID was the result of a lab accident. "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." Venter 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. Agencies The World Health Organisation says efforts to determine the origins of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic, are still ongoing and incomplete. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said "all hypotheses must remain on the table" to determine the cause of the virus, also known as SARS-CoV-2, after an expert group investigating its origins reached an unsatisfying conclusion in its final report released on Friday. "As things stand, all hypotheses must remain on the table, including zoonotic spillover and lab leak," Dr Tedros told a press conference, referring to the two main hypotheses as to how the pandemic began. The WHO Scientific Advisory Group reported progress in understanding COVID-19's origins but noted that critical information required to fully assess all hypotheses remains unavailable. The agency said it requested China share hundreds of genetic sequences from COVID-19 patients early in the pandemic, detailed information on animals sold at Wuhan markets, and details on research and biosafety conditions at Wuhan laboratories. WHO said China has not yet shared the information. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The first cases were detected in Wuhan in China in late 2019, and understanding where the Sars-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 came from is key to preventing future pandemics. In 2021, Dr Tedros launched the WHO Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), a panel of 27 independent international experts. Marietjie Venter, the group's chair, said on Friday that most scientific data supports the hypothesis that the new coronavirus jumped to humans from animals. But she added that after more than three years of work, SAGO was unable to get the necessary data to evaluate whether or not COVID was the result of a lab accident. "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." Venter 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. Agencies
Perth Now
12 hours ago
- Health
- Perth Now
WHO says probe into COVID-19 virus origin still ongoing
The World Health Organisation says efforts to determine the origins of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic, are still ongoing and incomplete. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said "all hypotheses must remain on the table" to determine the cause of the virus, also known as SARS-CoV-2, after an expert group investigating its origins reached an unsatisfying conclusion in its final report released on Friday. "As things stand, all hypotheses must remain on the table, including zoonotic spillover and lab leak," Dr Tedros told a press conference, referring to the two main hypotheses as to how the pandemic began. The WHO Scientific Advisory Group reported progress in understanding COVID-19's origins but noted that critical information required to fully assess all hypotheses remains unavailable. The agency said it requested China share hundreds of genetic sequences from COVID-19 patients early in the pandemic, detailed information on animals sold at Wuhan markets, and details on research and biosafety conditions at Wuhan laboratories. WHO said China has not yet shared the information. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The first cases were detected in Wuhan in China in late 2019, and understanding where the Sars-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 came from is key to preventing future pandemics. In 2021, Dr Tedros launched the WHO Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), a panel of 27 independent international experts. Marietjie Venter, the group's chair, said on Friday that most scientific data supports the hypothesis that the new coronavirus jumped to humans from animals. But she added that after more than three years of work, SAGO was unable to get the necessary data to evaluate whether or not COVID was the result of a lab accident. "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." Venter 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. Agencies
Straits Times
20 hours ago
- Health
- Straits Times
All hypotheses on Covid-19 origins ‘remain on the table': WHO chief
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said China had failed to provide key information that could help to determine the origins of Covid-19. PHOTO: AFP All hypotheses on Covid-19 origins 'remain on the table': WHO chief GENEVA - All hypotheses on how the Covid-19 pandemic began remain on the table, the World Health Organisation said on June 26, following an inconclusive investigation into the global catastrophe's origins. The pandemic killed an estimated 20 million people, according to WHO, while shredding economies and crippling health systems. Understanding where the Sars-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19 came from is seen as key to preventing future pandemics. The first cases were detected in Wuhan in China in late 2019, with the WHO first characterising the outbreak as a pandemic in March 2020. The WHO set up the Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (Sago) to take the investigation into the pandemic's origins as far as they could. Its report was being published on June 27. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Sago had advanced understanding of the origins of Covid-19 but much of the information needed to evaluate fully all the hypotheses had not been provided. 'Despite our repeated requests, China hasn't provided hundreds of viral sequences from individuals with Covid-19 early in the pandemic, more detailed information on animals sold at markets in Wuhan, and information on work done and biosafety conditions at laboratories in Wuhan,' he told a press conference. 'WHO is also aware of intelligence reports performed by other governments around the world on the origins of Covid-19. We have also requested access to those reports. 'As things stand, all hypotheses must remain on the table, including zoonotic spillover and lab leak.' Dr Tedros said the UN health agency continued to appeal to Beijing and other countries with information about the origins of Covid-19 to share the information openly, in the interests of protecting the world from future pandemics. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
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Business Standard
15-06-2025
- Health
- Business Standard
On guard, to keep waves at bay: No rush to stockpile Covid vaccines
The virus may have lost its 'bite', but is still highly transmissible, as experts point out Listen to This Article Just as life without masks and social distancing was increasingly becoming a new normal, Covid-19 has made a comeback. Even if the impact is not severe, doctors, health experts and hospital administrations have stepped up their act on the next steps. The numbers explain why the situation is not alarming, but the sudden surge in patients infected with the Sars-CoV-2 virus is worrisome. India is adding 250-350 fresh Covid-19 cases daily. Compare this with the numbers in early May 2021, when infections were at their peak. India was reporting an average of around 400,000 daily cases and close to 5000
The Citizen
13-06-2025
- Health
- The Citizen
New Covid variant raises concern over vaccine access
Experts urge South Africa to license updated vaccines as a new Covid variant spreads globally but hasn't reached SA yet. If South Africa wants to intensify its fight against the new Covid variant that might hit the country, it should consider having vaccines available and licensed locally, according to health experts. The World Health Organisation recently announced that the new variant, which was detected in Asia a few weeks ago is gaining momentum globally. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases has confirmed the NB.1.8.1 variant has not yet been detected in South Africa. New Covid variant not yet detected in SA Prof Shabir Madhi, a health expert from Wits University, said: 'Unfortunately, there are no Covid vaccines available or licensed in SA. This is concerning, as highrisk people do require at least annual boosting with the most recent variant vaccine. 'The vaccine currently available elsewhere would provide some protection against NB1.8.1, but less so compared to the variant (JN) which is targeted at.' ALSO READ: The price of distraction: South Africa's allergy to the truth He said licensing the vaccines in the country was important because the high-risk individuals still remain susceptible to severe disease and it's the only option that can reduce their risk of severe illness from Covid. Madhi said the surveillance for Covid has significantly diminished over the past few years in SA, while there was data to support the virus has been circulating at low intensity since 2023. 'We have recently had an annual outbreak of respiratory syncytial virus, which is on the decline. Also, there is an increase in influenza over the past two weeks, which is now beginning to dominate,' he said. Proactive planning and investment Dr Bandile Masuku, chief patron of the national campaign for epidemic preparedness funding and budgeting, said it was important for the country to conduct proactive planning and investment, particularly in Gauteng. 'South Africa, and especially Gauteng, learned hard lessons from the Covid pandemic,' said Masuku. ALSO READ: Special Tribunal declares R600m AngloGold Ashanti Hospital contracts unlawful 'Today, we are better equipped, but we must not be complacent. Preparedness is not a luxury; it is a necessity. Let us not wait for a crisis to occur. Let us fund, plan and prepare because preparedness saves lives.' Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has urged the public not to panic. He said South Africa was actively monitoring the emergence of the variant and had a robust surveillance system in place. Don't panic – Minister Motsoaledi 'Currently, our data shows very low Sars-CoV-2 activity. While we are observing a seasonal increase in influenza, we are well-prepared to manage this,' said Motsoaledi. He said at this stage, no specific new public health actions are required from the public. ALSO READ: Covid pupils triumph with record matric results Motsoaledi also urged the public to maintain good hygiene practices, such as hand-washing, covering coughs and staying home when not feeling well.
