Medical and Hospital News  
EPIDEMICS
WHO says 'will do everything' to find Covid-19 origins
by Staff Writers
Geneva (AFP) Nov 30, 2020

The World Health Organization insisted Monday it would do everything possible to find the animal origins of Covid-19, insisting that knowledge was vital to preventing future outbreaks.

"We want to know the origin and we will do everything to know the origin," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.

He insisted the UN health agency was intent on getting to the bottom of the mystery, and urged critics who have accused it of handing the reins of the probe to China to stop "politicising" the issue.

"WHO's position is very, very clear. We need to know the origin of this virus, because it can help us prevent future outbreaks," Tedros said.

The United States, which with more than 262,000 deaths is the country hardest hit by the pandemic, has been harshly critical of the WHO's handling of the crisis and has accused it of kowtowing to China and of dragging its feet on investigating how the outbreak first started.

Other critics have also voiced concern that the agency may have allowed China to dictate the terms of an international investigation into the origins of the virus, which first surfaced in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.

Since then, more than 1.46 million people have died and nearly 63 million have been infected worldwide.

The WHO has for months been working to send a team of international experts, including epidemiologists and animal health specialists, to China to help probe the animal origin of the novel coronavirus pandemic and how the virus first crossed over to humans.

The organisation sent an advance team to Beijing in July to lay the groundwork for the international probe.

But it has remained unclear when the larger team of scientists would be able to travel to China to begin epidemiological studies to try to identify the first human cases and their source of infection.

Last week, the WHO's emergencies chief Michael Ryan said the agency was hoping to send the international team to Wuhan "as soon as possible".

Tedros meanwhile rejected on Monday criticism over lacking transparency on the probe, stressing that the names of the experts on the team and the terms of reference had been made public.

"There is nothing to hide. We want to know the origin. I don't want to have any confusion on that."

Scientists initially believed the killer virus jumped from animals to humans at a market selling exotic animals for meat in the city of Wuhan, where the virus was first detected late last year.

But experts now think the market may not have been the origin of the outbreak, but rather a place where it was amplified.

It is widely assumed that the virus originally came from bats, but the intermediate animal host that transmitted it between bats and humans remains unknown.


Related Links
Epidemics on Earth - Bird Flu, HIV/AIDS, Ebola


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


EPIDEMICS
Pakistanis join final trials for China-made vaccine
Islamabad (AFP) Nov 26, 2020
Thousands of volunteers are flocking to research hospitals across Pakistan to join final-stage clinical trials of a Chinese-made vaccine for the coronavirus. It is the first time Pakistan has participated in such a trial, which comes amid a string of positive vaccine announcements by Western pharmaceutical companies this month. The vaccine is being developed by CanSinoBio and the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology China. "I have volunteered myself for a noble cause that will help humanity," ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

EPIDEMICS
Thanksgiving Feed-the-Troops meals to be delivered 'grab-and-go style'

Don't cut foreign aid, Malala Yousafzai urges UK

Electric 'aero-ambulance' developed at the University of Sydney

Victims lament real-world violence fueled by social media

EPIDEMICS
BDS-3 gains major breakthrough in civil aviation sector

Swift Navigation's improves accuracy of single-frequency GNSS receivers

China's BDS-3 improves timing service

Fourth Lockheed Martin-Built GPS III Satellite's On Board Engine Now Propelling It To Orbit

EPIDEMICS
Brazil fires missionary from indigenous protection program

Baby chimp gives hope for Guinea's famous ape tribe

Neanderthals' thumbs were well-suited to 'squeeze,' study says

Computer mouse movements may reveal appetite for risk-taking

EPIDEMICS
German researchers compile world's largest inventory of known plant species

Pakistan's lonely elephant Kaavan packs trunk for Cambodia

Leaf-cutter ant first insect found with biomineral body armour

Mammoth move: loneliest elephant heads to Cambodia after Cher campaign

EPIDEMICS
Russian army starts mass coronavirus vaccination campaign

Undiagnosed HIV rising in Eastern Europe, Central Asia: agencies

Thin liquid films help COVID-19 survive on surfaces

Pandemic respite for Thai 'sea gypsies' threatened by mass tourism

EPIDEMICS
Hong Kong leader vows to restore political order in key speech

Hong Kong prison wrong to cut 'Long Hair' locks: court

Detained Huawei exec's team accuses Canada police of 'cover up'

Cash and Carrie: US sanctioned Hong Kong leader has no bank account

EPIDEMICS
UK police given more time to hold tanker 'hijack' seven

Seven held for attempted hijacking off UK coast

Death toll rises to 11 in Colombia rioting over police killing

USS Detroit deployed for counternarcotics operations

EPIDEMICS








The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.