A study suggests that the seafood market in Wuhan may not be the only source of novel coronavirus or (2019-nCoV) which has claimed 132 lives and infected thousands, reported state-run Xinhua News Agency.
The novel coronavirus is zoonotic, meaning it can be passed from animals to humans.
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Experts have pinpointed the seafood market where wild animals are sold, as the origin of the virus.
But the idea is challenged in a study published in the medical journal The Lancet, which indicates that the virus might have originated somewhere else before it arrived in the market.
The paper, which was published by Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital vice director Huang Chaolin and his team said only 27 out of 41 initial cases of nCoV had exposure to the market.
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“Judging from the whole situation, the seafood market may not be the only source. (The origin of the novel coronavirus) might be multi-source,” Huang said.
The paper added that the first case of the virus, which was reported in December 1, did not have direct exposure to the market.
Moreover, the virus could have spread undetected before the outbreak in Wuhan occurred, but there is no clue to the point where the virus originated.
