The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan was the early epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic

Michael Worobey; Joshua I Levy; Lorena Malpica Serrano; Alexander Crits-Christoph; Jonathan E Pekar; Stephen A Goldstein; Angela L Rasmussen; Moritz U G Kraemer; Chris Newman; Marion P G Koopmans; Marc A Suchard; Joel O Wertheim; Philippe Lemey; David L Robertson; Robert F Garry; Edward C Holmes; Andrew Rambaut; Kristian G Andersen

doi:10.1126/science.abp8715

The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan was the early epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic

Michael Worobey^*, Joshua I Levy, Lorena Malpica Serrano, Alexander Crits-Christoph, Jonathan E Pekar, Stephen A Goldstein, Angela L Rasmussen, Moritz U G Kraemer, Chris Newman, Marion P G Koopmans, Marc A Suchard, Joel O Wertheim, Philippe Lemey, David L Robertson, Robert F Garry, Edward C Holmes, Andrew Rambaut, Kristian G Andersen^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Virology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

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Abstract

Understanding how severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in 2019 is critical to preventing future zoonotic outbreaks before they become the next pandemic. The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, was identified as a likely source of cases in early reports, but later this conclusion became controversial. We show here that the earliest known COVID-19 cases from December 2019, including those without reported direct links, were geographically centered on this market. We report that live SARS-CoV-2-susceptible mammals were sold at the market in late 2019 and that within the market, SARS-CoV-2-positive environmental samples were spatially associated with vendors selling live mammals. Although there is insufficient evidence to define upstream events, and exact circumstances remain obscure, our analyses indicate that the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 occurred through the live wildlife trade in China and show that the Huanan market was the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	951-959
Number of pages	9
Journal	Science
Volume	377
Issue number	6609
Early online date	26 Jul 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abp8715
Publication status	Published - 26 Aug 2022

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© 2022 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved.

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The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan was the early epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemicFinal published version, 5.93 MBLicence: CC BY

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Worobey, M., Levy, J. I., Serrano, L. M., Crits-Christoph, A., Pekar, J. E., Goldstein, S. A., Rasmussen, A. L., Kraemer, M. U. G., Newman, C., Koopmans, M. P. G., Suchard, M. A., Wertheim, J. O., Lemey, P., Robertson, D. L., Garry, R. F., Holmes, E. C., Rambaut, A., & Andersen, K. G. (2022). The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan was the early epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Science, 377(6609), 951-959. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abp8715

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abstract = "Understanding how severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in 2019 is critical to preventing future zoonotic outbreaks before they become the next pandemic. The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, was identified as a likely source of cases in early reports, but later this conclusion became controversial. We show here that the earliest known COVID-19 cases from December 2019, including those without reported direct links, were geographically centered on this market. We report that live SARS-CoV-2-susceptible mammals were sold at the market in late 2019 and that within the market, SARS-CoV-2-positive environmental samples were spatially associated with vendors selling live mammals. Although there is insufficient evidence to define upstream events, and exact circumstances remain obscure, our analyses indicate that the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 occurred through the live wildlife trade in China and show that the Huanan market was the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.",

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Worobey, M, Levy, JI, Serrano, LM, Crits-Christoph, A, Pekar, JE, Goldstein, SA, Rasmussen, AL, Kraemer, MUG, Newman, C, Koopmans, MPG, Suchard, MA, Wertheim, JO, Lemey, P, Robertson, DL, Garry, RF, Holmes, EC, Rambaut, A & Andersen, KG 2022, 'The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan was the early epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic', Science, vol. 377, no. 6609, pp. 951-959. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abp8715

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AU - Serrano, Lorena Malpica

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AU - Pekar, Jonathan E

AU - Goldstein, Stephen A

AU - Rasmussen, Angela L

AU - Kraemer, Moritz U G

AU - Newman, Chris

AU - Koopmans, Marion P G

AU - Suchard, Marc A

AU - Wertheim, Joel O

AU - Lemey, Philippe

AU - Robertson, David L

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The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan was the early epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic

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