London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jul 11, 2025

what’s at stake for the WHO – and China – in the latest mission to Wuhan

what’s at stake for the WHO – and China – in the latest mission to Wuhan

The embattled UN health agency must know what data it wants and assess what it is given without fear or favour. China must also be prepared to accept that it is where the pathogen made the leap from animals to humans – if the evidence points to that source

As a World Health Organisation delegation prepares to again head to China to try to solve the mystery of the origins of the new coronavirus, the political stakes are high.

The United Nations agency is facing its worst publicity crisis in decades and is under unprecedented pressure to convince its growing number of critics that it can work with China to investigate contentious issues without fear or favour.

This time, the delegation will need to do more than add some polite comments to a technical report based on information from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention – as the first WHO mission to China did in February – if it is to silence the critics.

The WHO said the investigation would focus on the zoonotic – or animal – source of the coronavirus, formally known as Sars-CoV-2, and was sending two experts to the central Chinese city of Wuhan this weekend to discuss research parameters and data access.

Tracing the origin of a zoonotic disease requires meticulous detective work and the mission may just be the start of a long-term investigation.

Throughout the process, the WHO must maintain a cordial relationship with China to keep the door of cooperation open. But it will also have to assess and verify the data it receives and persuade Beijing to give it access to other information it deems important.

This will require deft diplomacy and scientific judgment – as will the choice of the team members. Half of the team will comprise Chinese experts while the rest will come from overseas. Choosing international specialists with knowledge of China may seem an obvious choice but they may not want to jeopardise their other research projects with Chinese partners and so hesitate to be critical.

It is unclear if any American scientists will be included.

The US administration has blamed China for the pandemic, insisting that it was the source of the pathogen.

Wuhan was certainly where large-scale human infections started and China should be open minded enough to accept – if proved – that it was where the coronavirus actually jumped from animals to humans. By the same token, the international community should also be open minded enough to accept that the first case may well have been elsewhere.

A paper by doctors at Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital – a designated coronavirus treatment centre – and published in The Lancet in January said that many of the early cases had not been to the Huanan seafood wholesale market, which was initially thought to be the source of the pathogen. As reported earlier, by February, China had identified 266 infections that occurred last year, with the earliest dating back to November 17. Many of these are likely the results of retrospective study.

But for the WHO mission to assess these findings for itself, it will need access to crucial information collected by Chinese authorities using the country’s sophisticated contact tracing and disease surveillance networks. China has the capacity to track the geographical range of the early cases, whether they were in Wuhan, or scattered throughout wider Hubei province, or even in other provinces.

The authorities are continuing to comb through the data and it should not be surprising to see cases predating the earliest reported so far.

Scientists are also interested in the samples collected at the Huanan market before it was shut down. These samples may be contaminated or incomplete, but the mission team should at least see for themselves what was gathered.

Ultimately, it is in China’s interests to pinpoint the animal source of the coronavirus to shut the door of animal-to-human transmission, and by allowing in a WHO mission, it shows it is willing to work with other countries.

But this is on the proviso that it is not being targeted as a “culprit”.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said this week that as a next step, China wanted to see the research expand to a global scale.

Given some scientists in other countries said they found the virus in sewage collected last year, the call is reasonable, but China will first have to win more people over by sharing the data it has with the international community.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
×