After an in-depth analysis of the genetic material from hundreds of swabs taken from the walls, floors, machines and drains inside the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China — a site that’s been described as an epicenter of early spread of Covid-19 — scientists say they now know exactly which species of animals were in the same area where investigators also found the most positive samples the virus that causes Covid-19.

Scientists searching for the origins of COVID-19 have zeroed in on a short list of animals that possibly helped spread it to people

The hunt for the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic has new leads. Researchers have identified half a dozen animal species that could have passed SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, to people,

A new peer-reviewed paper presents evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic started in a seafood market in Wuhan, China, where many of the first cases of the disease were identified. The paper, published Thursday in the scientific journal Cell,

While the Chinese CDC team listed animals that were sold at the market at the time, including rabbits and bamboo rats, the authors of this paper said that the 2023 study left unresolved the exact identities of the animal species.