Genetic Analysis Points to Raccoon Dogs as Likely Origin of COVID-19 Pandemic.

A new genetic analysis of samples collected from a Wuhan seafood market suggests that raccoon dogs were likely carrying and shedding the virus near the end of 2019, making them the likely culprit for the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. The research was conducted by an international team of virologists, genomicists, and evolutionary biologists, and though not definitive proof, it strongly indicates that animals at the market were infected.