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Origin of COVID-19 may never be known with certainty - Hande Harmanci

Hande Harmancı, Head of the WHO Representative Office in Azerbaijan

14 February 2025 15:25 (UTC +04:00)

The origin of COVID-19 can never be known with 100% certainty, Hande Harmanci, Head of the WHO Representative Office in Azerbaijan, said in an interview with APA.

Harmanci emphasized that it is important to recognize that we share this world with other living beings: "As the human population increases, we have started expanding into areas that were previously uninhabited. As a result, the interaction between humans and animals has increased. Most of the diseases that have caused pandemics in the world are those transmitted from animals to humans. The close coexistence of humans and wild animals in the same geographical area always carries a pandemic risk throughout history."

According to Harmanci, the WHO, together with laboratories, monitors microbes worldwide that could pose a pandemic risk: "Extensive research has been conducted on the origin of COVID-19. The WHO has also carried out researches on this matter. Since 2020, there have been multiple visits to China, and experts from all over the world have come together to search for the virus's origin.

According to the latest WHO report, there are many hypotheses about the origin of COVID-19. Among these, the most reasonable and probable one is the hypothesis that the virus originated from a "market" in China where animal-derived food products were sold. This is the most likely scenario among all hypotheses regarding the origin of the virus. However, it will never be possible to determine the origin of COVID-19 with 100% certainty."