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COVID-19 didn't originate in China's Wuhan? New study reveals 'lab-leak' theory is...
The research involved scientists from 20 institutions across the US, Europe, and Asia. They studied 167 genomes of bat coronaviruses to trace the virus’s history.
Updated : May 25, 2025, 11:19 AM IST
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More than five years after the Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to a halt, the origin of the virus remains a hot topic. Was it a lab accident in Wuhan, China? Or did it come from animals in wet markets? Now, a new study led by scientists from the University of Edinburgh claims that the virus developed naturally in bats, not in a laboratory. The study, published in the respected journal ‘Cell’, is being called the strongest genetic evidence yet against the lab leak theory. The research involved scientists from 20 institutions across the US, Europe, and Asia. They studied 167 genomes of bat coronaviruses to trace the virus’s history.
What they found is striking. The closest relatives of SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes Covid-19 — were found in bats living in northern Laos and China’s Yunnan province. These places are thousands of kilometers from Wuhan. The virus’s closest ancestor likely appeared between 2013 and 2017, well before the outbreak in late 2019.
Lead author Jonathan Pekar explained, “The data clearly indicate that the ancestor of SARS-CoV-2 was in bats far from Wuhan. This challenges the idea that it came from a lab in the city.”
This finding goes against the lab-leak theory, which was promoted by Donald Trump and other officials. They believe the virus may have escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Some claim the virus shows unnatural features or that researchers in Wuhan were sick before the outbreak was officially known.
Supporters of this theory argue that, if the virus came from animals, scientists would have already found clear proof. But the Edinburgh study suggests otherwise.
It also raises another issue: the illegal wildlife trade. The study says the virus may have spread through animals moved by people, not through natural bat migration. These animals could have carried the virus from places like Laos to cities, where it then jumped to humans.
This pattern is not new. The 2003 SARS outbreak and even the 1910 Manchurian plague also started when viruses spread through animal trade and human activity.
