How forensic researchers track down the origins of SARS-CoV2 | COVID-19 Special

While parts of the medical community are on the hunt for a vaccine against the coronavirus, others are on the hunt for its origin. While the first confirmed case was in China, the exact steps of the virus's early progression are still unknown. The current working theory is that virus originated in Wuhan, but there's still more to learn. Sequencing the virus' genome is key for the ongoing medical forensic investigation and scientists hope by pinpointing where the virus came from and how it jumped to humans they'll be able to develop the tools to fight the future evolution of COVID-19.

It's a bit like a medical detective story. Following the clues should eventually lead us to the origin of the coronavirus that has brought us a year the world will never forget. To get to the beginning, we'll have to work backwards.Medical forensics is a big part of the equation now. Dozens of people connected to a wet market reported flu like symptoms in the early part of last December. The leading theory is that a man originally contracted the virus from a bat. The WHO is currently working to trace the virus' path to better understand how the pandemic could continue to spread.

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