The corona virus responsible for the current pandemic jumped from wild animals to humans. To prevent another catastrophic pandemic in the future, we have to learn more about its origins. So where does the previously unknown virus come from, and exactly how and where was it transmitted to humans? Two perpetrators have been under suspicion for weeks: a small bat species and the pangolin. The crime scene for the first infection is thought to be a market in the Chinese city of Wuhan. But the story isn’t that simple: even respected scientists argue about the emergence of this pandemic, which probably originated in the wild and is still holding the world in suspense. The WHO estimates that around 60 % of all viruses that can infect humans come from animals. 75 % of all new infectious diseases in the past ten years have been transmitted by animals.
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