Viral

A new virus emerged in 2019, causing unprecedented chaos and raising urgent questions about its origins. As the pandemic unfolded, initial hopes of quickly identifying how SARS-CoV-2 first infected humans faded. Nearly two years in, the mystery remains unresolved and increasingly complex. In this insightful exploration, a scientist and a writer collaborate to uncover how a virus, closely related to those found in bats in subtropical southern China, began spreading in Wuhan, over 1,500 kilometers away. They confront the perplexing absence of expected signs of an outbreak: no infected animals in markets, no early cases among travelers, no rural epidemics, and no rapid adaptation of the virus to humans. To unravel this pressing enigma, the narrative delves into the events from 2019 to 2021, examining animal markets, virology labs, and hidden records in Chinese theses and websites, as well as clues embedded in the virus's genetic code. The result is a captivating detective story that leads readers deeper into a metaphorical cave of mystery. The authors investigate various promising leads, only to find blind alleys, until they finally approach a shaft that hints at the truth.