The Origin of Covid-19
History has proven, an effective vaccine is developed after the origin of the virus is discovered. History has also shown, a virus can never be contained until the origin of that virus has been identified. What is the origin of covid-19? To date, science, the media, and governments all over the world have yet to reveal the origin of covid-19. Is this by accident or design. These questions have been asked by many. The obvious and only answer to that question is unprecedented. Simple questions have been met with accusations of conspiracy theories, revolt, and governments have accused people with simple, logical questions of being members of radical terrorist groups. Why has the media and governments refused to share logical scientific data, but jumped to the conclusion that any logical question is linked to an act of terrorism? This is one of the many questions about covid-19 shared by the majority of people around the world.
There appears to be something sinister about covid-19. Too much is not explained. With the technology today, the origin of a virus can be easily traced, identified, and studies can lead to a safe and effective vaccine. History has shown the origin of vaccines and their safe application. But for some reason legitimate data on covid-19 is either lacking or hidden by the media. Neither the media nor government have taken a single step to identify the origin of covid-19.
One of the biggest problems with covid-19 is the media. Many media outlets have developed a habit of calling legitimate questions, rumors, unfounded lies, and other vicious names. Tactics used by major media sources are more than transparent and if anything else, have lead to more questions. The constant and consistent rhetoric spewed by major medias outlets is transparent to most people. Those media outlets name zero reliable sources while attempting to present themselves as experts in the field of covid-19 and viruses. What is their source? Where did those news anchors derive their education on viruses? When was the last time a news anchor named a legitimate study as their source? They never do. Media only criticizes any and all questions and the presentation of legitimate sources. Major media sources have done nothing in the past year to prove they conducted any research into the stories they present. Instead they stick to criticizing every legitimate claim and question posed by every other source. In short, many major media outlets stick to one concept, making themselves an unquestionable source of information even though they put zero effort into research and refuse to cover any story from the many angles that make up a complex topic.
Governments around the world have taken on the same attitude. It appears most governments around the world use news media outlets as their only source of information, one backing up the other. Media and government have fallen short on reporting major topics with a total lack of facts, sources, and views from different angles that play a key role in the subject at hand. In essence, media and government in 2021 prefer to take on the role of dictator instead of reliable sources of investigative study and unbiased presentation of the facts.
When it comes to an investigation into viruses and covid-19 it has proven difficult to uncover reliable sources. Sources with links to back up their studies. Historical facts and legitimate scientific, unbiased studies are becoming a rare commodity in this information age. Most articles contain a small portion of the information we need to draw a logical conclusion. Most articles contain data with nothing to back it up. The information had to come from somewhere? Why are so many authors hesitant to reveal their sources?
After reviewing a number of articles on covid-19 and other viruses, I did unearth a few articles that met minimum standards. As a matter of fact, a few of these articles exceeded those standards. The following articles contain information the media refuses to share. Why? Reading those articles shows how actual scientific data does not agree with the agenda set by government and the media.
We should avoid making false accusations and establishing conclusions based on our limited medical and scientific knowledge. Many of these articles are beyond our basic understanding and can be easily manipulated to display unfounded conclusions. Great care needs to be exercised in investigations into the scientific and medical back ground on covid and its related viruses. It is best to stick to one fundamental aspect of the subject, and branch out as bits and pieces are understood. This involves researching a number of links to related research and understanding scientific and medical terms the average person is not familiar with.
The following link contains over 200 sources, well documented and linked in a way an average person can follow. This link looks at the origin of viruses, the history of viruses, and to a small degree, research into viruses. Links provided on this site dwell on a number of aspects covered in this article to a far greater depth.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_history_of_viruses
The main question in this article is, what was the origin of covid-19. As we dwell deeper and deeper into a few of those links, studies have shown, the origin of covid-19 is yet unknown. The theory that covid-19 originated in bats has been drawn into question by a number of scientists studying the origin of covid-19. The most revealing fact is the timing. Covid-19 originated in December 2019 at the height of the hibernation season for bats. Another fact brought out by this series of articles is, covid-19 is a combination of a common covid virus and SARS. These articles show information on the make up of and complex formation of covid-19 which is make up of two major sections, the crown, and main body of the virus. The main body consists of a chain of amino acids that resembles other viruses. Similarities range from a 50-90% match. The articles explain why covid-19 lacks a closer match to other covid viruses and present data on its complex structure that shares links to other viruses including SARS. Although the articles do not make the assumption, covid-19 is a man made virus, the data suggests this is either a previously unknown mutation, or was derived in an unidentified host.
I found it much easier to access basic information on the history of viruses and information gathered on viruses in days when scientific study was in the cradle so to speak. If nothing else that information illustrates the lack of scientific data displayed by the media and government and how that lack of information has lead to catastrophic results throughout history.
Smallpox and Measles
Smallpox and measles viruses are among the oldest that infect humans. Having evolved from viruses that infected other animals, they first appeared in humans in Europe and North Africa thousands of years ago.
Black Plague
The virus, which only infected humans, probably descended from the poxviruses of rodents.[5] Humans probably came into contact with these rodents, and some people became infected by the viruses they carried. When viruses cross this so-called “species barrier”, their effects can be severe,[6] and humans may have had little natural resistance.
Plant Viruses
This agricultural revolution embraced the development of monoculture and presented an opportunity for the rapid spread of several species of plant viruses.[10] The divergence and spread of sobemoviruses – southern bean mosaic virus – date from this time.[11] The spread of the potyviruses of potatoes, and other fruits and vegetables, began about 6,600 years ago.
Influenza
About 10,000 years ago the humans who inhabited the lands around the Mediterranean basin began to domesticate wild animals. Pigs, cattle, goats, sheep, horses, camels, cats and dogs were all kept and bred in captivity.[12] These animals would have brought their viruses with them.[13] The transmission of viruses from animals to humans can occur, but such zoonotic infections are rare and subsequent human-to-human transmission of animal viruses is even rarer, although there are notable exceptions such as influenza. Most viruses are species-specific and would have posed no threat to humans.[14] The rare epidemics of viral diseases originating in animals would have been short-lived because the viruses were not fully adapted to humans[15] and the human populations were too small to maintain the chains of infection.[16]
The influenza virus is one that seems to have crossed the species barrier from ducks and waterfowl to pigs and from there to humans.
Measles
The close similarities between measles virus, canine distemper virus and rinderpest virus have given rise to speculation that measles was first transmitted to humans from domesticated dogs or cattle.
Rinderpest, which is caused by a virus closely related to measles virus, is a disease of cattle known since Roman times.
Swine Influenza
In 1173, an epidemic occurred that was possibly the first in Europe, and in 1493, an outbreak of what is now thought to be swine influenza, struck Native Americans in Hispaniola. There is some evidence to suggest that source of the infection was pigs on Columbus’s ships.
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an often lethal disease caused by a flavivirus. The virus is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti) and first appeared over 3,000 years ago.
Potatoes
Until the Irish Great Famine of 1845–1852, the commonest cause of disease in potatoes was not the mould that causes blight, it was a virus. The disease, called “curl”, is caused by potato leafroll virus, and it was widespread in England in the 1770s, where it destroyed 75 per cent of the potato crop. At that time, the Irish potato crop remained relatively unscathed.
Rabies
Rabies is an often fatal disease caused by the infection of mammals with rabies virus. In the 21st century it is mainly a disease that affects wild mammals such as foxes and bats, but it is one of the oldest known virus diseases: rabies is a Sanskrit word (rabhas) that dates from 3000 BC,[35] which means “madness” or “rage”,[31] and the disease has been known for over 4000 years.
Measles
Humans are the only natural host of measles virus.[148] Immunity to the disease following an infection is lifelong; that afforded by vaccination is long term but eventually wanes.
HIV
HIV crossed the species barrier between chimpanzees and humans in Africa in the early decades of the 20th century.
Influenza
When influenza virus undergoes a genetic shift many humans have no immunity to the new strain, and if the population of susceptible individuals is high enough to maintain the chain of infection, pandemics occur. The genetic changes usually happen when different strains of the virus co-infect animals, particularly birds and swine. Although many viruses of vertebrates are restricted to one species, influenza virus is an exception.
Affecting mainly the elderly, the 1968 pandemic was the least severe, but 33,800 were killed in the US.[198] New strains of influenza virus often originate in East Asia; in rural China the concentration of ducks, pigs, and humans in close proximity is the highest in the world.
Arboviruses
Arboviruses are viruses that are transmitted to humans and other vertebrates by blood-sucking insects. These viruses are diverse; the term “arbovirus” – which was derived from “arthropod-borne virus” – is no longer used in formal taxonomy because many species of virus are known to be spread in this way.[200] There are more than 500 species of arboviruses, but in the 1930s only three were known to cause disease in humans: yellow fever virus, dengue virus and Pappataci fever virus.[201] More than 100 of such viruses are now known to cause human diseases including encephalitis.
Hepatitis
The discovery of hepatitis B virus and the invention of tests to detect it have radically changed many medical, and some cosmetic procedures. The screening of donated blood, which was introduced in the early 1970s, has dramatically reduced the transmission of the virus.[221] Donations of human blood plasma and Factor VIII collected before 1975 often contained infectious levels of hepatitis B virus.[222] Until the late 1960s, hypodermic needles were often reused by medical professionals, and tattoo artists’ needles were a common source of infection.[223] In the late 1990s, needle exchange programmes were established in Europe and the US to prevent the spread of infections by intravenous drug users.[224] These measures also helped to reduce the subsequent impact of HIV and hepatitis C virus.
Influenza
The natural hosts of influenza viruses are pigs and birds, although it has probably infected humans since antiquity.[244] The virus can cause mild to severe epizootics in wild and domesticated animals.[245] Many species of wild birds migrate and this has spread influenza across the continents throughout the ages. The virus has evolved into numerous strains and continues to do so, posing an ever-present threat.
Plants
During the 20th century, many “old” diseases of plants were found to be caused by viruses. These included maize streak and cassava mosaic disease.[249] As with humans, when plants thrive in close proximity, so do their viruses. This can cause huge economic losses and human tragedies. In Jordan during the 1970s, where tomatoes and cucurbits (cucumbers, melons and gourds) were extensively grown, entire fields were infected with viruses.[250] Similarly, in Côte d’Ivoire, thirty different viruses infected crops such as legumes and vegetables. In Kenya cassava mosaic virus, maize streak virus and groundnut viral diseases caused the loss of up to 70 per cent of the crop.[250] Cassava is the most abundant crop that is grown in eastern Africa and it is a staple crop for more than 200 million people. It was introduced to Africa from South America and grows well in soils with poor fertility. The most important disease of cassava is caused by cassava mosaic virus, a geminivirus, which is transmitted between plants by whiteflies. The disease was first recorded in 1894 and outbreaks of the disease occurred in eastern Africa throughout the 20th century, often resulting in famine.
Such disasters occurred when human intervention caused ecological changes by the introduction of crops to new vectors and viruses. Cacao is native to South America and was introduced to West Africa in the late 19th century. In 1936, swollen root disease had been transmitted to plantations by mealybugs from indigenous trees.[256] New habitats can trigger outbreaks of plant virus diseases. Before 1970, the rice yellow mottle virus was only found in the Kisumu district of Kenya, but following the irrigation of large areas of East Africa and extensive rice cultivation, the virus spread throughout East Africa.[257] Human activity introduced plant viruses to native crops. The citrus tristeza virus (CTV) was introduced to South America from Africa between 1926 and 1930. At the same time, the aphid Toxoptera citricidus was carried from Asia to South America and this accelerated the transmission of the virus. By 1950, more than six million citrus trees had been killed by the virus in São Paulo, Brazil.[257] CTV and citrus trees probably coevolved for centuries in their original countries. The dispersal of CTV to other regions and its interaction with new citrus varieties resulted in devastating outbreaks of plant diseases.[258] Because of the problems caused by the introduction – by humans – of plant viruses, many countries have strict importation controls on any materials that can harbour dangerous plant viruses or their insect vectors.
SARS
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is caused by a new type of coronavirus.[264] Other coronaviruses were known to cause mild infections in humans,[265] so the virulence and rapid spread of this novel virus strain caused alarm among health professionals as well as public fear.[260] The fears of a major pandemic were not realised, and by July 2003, after causing around 8,000 cases and 800 deaths, the outbreak had ended.[266] The exact origin of the SARS virus is not known, but evidence suggests that it came from bats.
A related coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China in November 2019 and spread rapidly around the world. Subsequently named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, infections with the virus caused a pandemic with a case fatality rate of around 2% in healthy people under the age of 50, to around 15% in those aged over 80 particularly those with pre-existing comorbidities.[268][269][270] As of October 2021, the fatality rate is lower than SARS but the infection is more contagious.[268] Measures to curtail the impact of the pandemic were hampered by fear and prejudice and stigmatisation of infected people.[271] Unprecedented restrictions in peacetime have been placed on international travel,[272] and curfews imposed in several major cities worldwide.[273] Governments were not prepared for the scale of the pandemic and worldwide, virology and epidemiology experts were complacent with regards to the efficiency of existing testing and monitoring systems.
After rodents, bats are the second most diverse and abundant mammalian order, comprising 20% of all mammalian biodiversity worldwide. In the past 2 decades, research has intensified to determine why bats harbor more zoonotic diseases than other mammalian taxa, including pathogens that result in high-consequence infectious diseases, such as Ebola and Marburg filoviruses; Nipah and Hendra paramyxoviruses; and SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, and MERS-CoV, emerging in humans (15). Behavioral and ecologic traits, such as their gregariousness, sympatry with mixed species assemblages in roosts, and long lifespan relative to size, have been suggested explanations for why bats are reservoirs to many viral pathogens (15). Physiologically, bats have comparatively high metabolic rates and typically do not show clinical signs after viral infection. Recently, it has also been shown that bats have several immune characteristics that are unique among mammals and that cumulatively dampen their antiviral responses (16). Those factors also probably contribute to their effectiveness as viral reservoirs.
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/27/4/20-3945_article
Coronavirus
Livestock can also be spillover hosts of human coronavirus infection. After the 2002–2003 SARS outbreak, a study conducted on farms in Xiqing County, China, tested livestock (pigs, cattle, chickens, and ducks) and companion animals (dogs and cats), leading to detection of 1 pig that was positive for SARS-CoV by antibody test and reverse transcription PCR (30) (Table 2). A larger and more complex series of livestock outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 has been unfolding since April 2020. Mink farms across Europe and North America have reported outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 (Tables 2, 3). In most outbreaks, farmed mink were suspected to be initially infected by COVID-19–positive farm employees (31,32). Findings from the Netherlands have also identified instances of spillback from mink to humans through ongoing investigations (33). National surveillance and control efforts have been implemented in several countries, many of which have subsequently identified other SARS-CoV-2–positive species living on or nearby mink farms, including cats, dogs, and escaped or wild mink (32). Several countries have implemented mandatory reporting of any virus-positive animals and depopulation or quarantine of affected farms (32). In Europe, several million mink have been culled, and a moratorium has been placed on the mink industry in some countries; such early and coordinated One Health actions are needed to prevent bidirectional transmission of zoonotic diseases
Phylogenetic analysis showed that bat-derived coronaviruses fell within all five subgenera of the genus Betacoronavirus. Moreover, bat-derived coronaviruses fell in basal positions in the subgenus Sarbecovirus, with 2019-nCoV most closely related to bat-SL-CoVZC45 and bat-SL-CoVZXC21, which were also sampled from bats.23 These data are consistent with a bat reservoir for coronaviruses in general and for 2019-nCoV in particular. However, despite the importance of bats, several facts suggest that another animal is acting as an intermediate host between bats and humans. First, the outbreak was first reported in late December, 2019, when most bat species in Wuhan are hibernating. Second, no bats were sold or found at the Huanan seafood market, whereas various non-aquatic animals (including mammals) were available for purchase. Third, the sequence identity between 2019-nCoV and its close relatives bat-SL-CoVZC45 and bat-SL-CoVZXC21 was less than 90%, which is reflected in the relatively long branch between them. Hence, bat-SL-CoVZC45 and bat-SL-CoVZXC21 are not direct ancestors of 2019-nCoV. Fourth, in both SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, bats acted as the natural reservoir, with another animal (masked palm civet for SARS-CoV35 and dromedary camels for MERS-CoV)36 acting as an intermediate host, with humans as terminal hosts. Therefore, on the basis of current data, it seems likely that the 2019-nCoV causing the Wuhan outbreak might also be initially hosted by bats, and might have been transmitted to humans via currently unknown wild animal(s) sold at the Huanan seafood market.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7159086/
Based on scientific information collected over hundreds of years we clearly see, scientists and doctors have been able to identify the source of viruses long before the invention of scientific devises available today. The question needs to be asked, why have scientists with limited resources been able to solve mysteries long before modern medicine, but modern technology remains baffled by the origin of covid-19. Since the 1960’s science has been to quickly identify the source of every virus within days or weeks of detection. But with the origin of covid-19 the media took main stage with their own analysis of the situation and came up with what seemed a logical conclusion, covid-19 originated in bats. A theory that has been proven false by a number of scientific studies. Those same detailed studies with all their funding, instruments, and technology have not been able to determine the origin of covid-19. Based on the link and sub-links provided in those studies, we clearly see a worldwide effort to solve this dilemma with zero credible results. The fact that no one has drawn the conclusion, covid-19 is a man made virus adds credibility to those studies. It proves scientists have been true to their profession by not establishing a result before beginning an investigation. An attribute we wish was shared by modern media and governments around the world.
