北京7月8日電(蔣鯉)新冠肺炎疫情正在全球范圍內(nèi)廣泛傳播。截至目前，已有多國(guó)先后在早前的血液、咽拭子、活檢、污水等樣本中發(fā)現(xiàn)新冠病毒，且早于本國(guó)目前已知的最早傳播時(shí)間。
美國(guó)研究人員6月15日在本國(guó)《臨床傳染病》雜志上發(fā)布最新研究報(bào)告，對(duì)2020年1月2日至3月18日期間從全美50個(gè)州采集的24079個(gè)血液樣本進(jìn)行了新冠抗體檢測(cè)和分析。結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)，有9個(gè)樣本呈抗體陽(yáng)性，其中7例來(lái)自伊利諾伊州等5個(gè)州的病例，時(shí)間早于這5個(gè)州官方公布的首例確診病例時(shí)間。這表明新冠病毒2019年12月就已在美國(guó)出現(xiàn)。
無(wú)獨(dú)有偶，加利福尼亞大學(xué)洛杉磯分校此前也曾發(fā)布報(bào)告稱，新冠病毒可能早在2019年12月就已存在于洛杉磯地區(qū)。
除美國(guó)之外，日本從2019年年初的血液樣本發(fā)現(xiàn)了新冠病毒抗體，意大利、法國(guó)分別在2019年12月采集到的活檢樣本和咽拭子樣本中檢測(cè)出新冠病毒。西班牙、巴西等國(guó)的研究人員也分別在當(dāng)?shù)貓?bào)告最早確診病例之前的廢水樣本中找到了新冠病毒存在的痕跡。這些發(fā)現(xiàn)不斷改寫著新冠病毒傳播的時(shí)間線。
多國(guó)科學(xué)家和研究人員都在盡力探尋新冠病毒傳播的時(shí)間點(diǎn)，追溯疫情的起源，以求盡早攻破這一全球大流行疾病。然而，美國(guó)一些別有用心的政客和媒體，卻在病毒溯源問(wèn)題上始終將矛頭對(duì)準(zhǔn)中國(guó)。他們無(wú)視世衛(wèi)組織的調(diào)查結(jié)果，對(duì)本國(guó)的病毒溯源問(wèn)題只字不提，對(duì)一些反對(duì)“武漢實(shí)驗(yàn)室泄漏”陰謀論的科學(xué)家進(jìn)行政治打壓和人身攻擊。
究其原因，是美國(guó)對(duì)中國(guó)的發(fā)展感到焦慮，深恐威脅到其世界霸主地位。他們需要尋找各種借口詆毀和打壓中國(guó)，讓中國(guó)處于國(guó)際輿論的風(fēng)口浪尖，這也是他們一貫使用的伎倆。奉勸美西方不要企圖將病毒溯源當(dāng)作抑制中國(guó)發(fā)展的“政治工具”，而是通過(guò)客觀、公正的科技手段，來(lái)研究新冠病毒的起源工作，以期盡早“擊敗”新冠病毒。
COVID-19 origin-tracing 'political tool' used against China
By John Lee
(ECNS) – The COVID-19 pandemic is spreading widely around the world. To date, the coronavirus has been found in blood, throat swabs, biopsies, sewage and other samples in various countries, often earlier than the earliest known transmission time.
A study published in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal on June 15 found that people in five U.S. states were infected with the virus in December 2019. U.S. researchers said that there was evidence of infection in nine out of 24,079 people whose blood samples were taken between Jan. 2, 2020, and March 18. The samples that tested positive for the virus came from Illinois, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. This indicates that the COVID-19 had appeared in the U.S. in December 2019.
It coincides with a previous report issued by UCLA that stated the coronavirus may have existed in the Los Angeles area as early as December 2019.
In addition to the U.S., COVID-19 antibodies were detected in blood samples tested in Japan in early 2019. The coronavirus was also found in biopsy samples collected in Italy and in throat swab samples from France, both in December 2019. Researchers from Spain and Brazil also found traces of the virus in wastewater samples before the earliest confirmed cases were reported locally. These discoveries are constantly rewriting the timeline of the emergence of the coronavirus.
Scientists from many countries are trying their best to determine the origin of COVID-19 and its earliest transmission. However, some U.S. politicians and media have overtly targeted China regarding COVID-19 tracing. They purposefully ignore WHO investigation reports, remain mute on origin-tracing in their own country, and conduct political crackdowns and personal attacks on scientists who oppose the "lab-leak" conspiracy theory.
The reasons? The U.S. is anxious about China's growth and fears that it may threaten its world dominance. They have to find excuses to slander and suppress China, and put China on the spot. The U.S. is good at playing these tricks. The U.S. should stop using COVID-19 origin-tracing as a "political tool" to restrain the development of China. Instead, it should research the origin through objective and impartial scientific means, so as to beat the pandemic.
