The biggest mystery: what it will take to trace the coronavirus source

The biggest mystery: what it will take to trace the coronavirus source



Research into pathogens is key to tackling the mystery of the coronavirus’s origins (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty)

The mystery at the heart of the pandemic

The SARS-CoV-2 virus almost certainly originated in bats, then probably passed to an intermediate animal, which spread it to people. But it’s been very difficult to identify that animal — or to completely rule out the unsubstantiated idea that the virus escaped from a laboratory. Pinpointing the source of SARS-CoV-2 would require extensive sampling of coronaviruses in wildlife and livestock, and could take years.

Nature | 9 min read