WHO Believes Ferret-Badgers and Rabbits Could Have Spread COVID-19 to Humans, Reports Say

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - World Health Organisation (WHO) experts investigating the pandemic's origins have suggested that ferret-badgers and rabbits sold at a Wuhan market in China, could have played a role in spreading the novel coronavirus to humans, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The investigators, however, note the need for further probes into the suppliers of those and other animals to the market. They have yet to ascertain a full list of live and dead animals sold legally or illegally at the market.

The experts also insist that China carry out widespread testing of its mink farms after two-way transmission of SARS-CoV-2 between humans and mink was confirmed in Europe.

A member of a World Health Organization team is seen wearing protective gear during a field visit to the Hubei Animal Disease Control and Prevention Center for another day of field visit in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021

© AP Photo / Ng Han Guan

The WHO expert team finished their four-week trip to China last week. At a press conference, they announced that any leak of the virus from a lab was unlikely, while the Wuhan wet market's role remains unclear. The investigators also doubted that bats had carried COVID-19 to the market, suggesting that there was an intermediate host.