Fudan, Public university in Shanghai, China

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched an expert group that will study the origins of new pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the news during his press briefing from Geneva, "following a public call for experts."The proposed members of the WHO Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO) were selected for their expertise in areas such as epidemiology, animal health, clinical medicine, virology and genomics.The 26 experts were selected from over 700 applications and were chosen for their world-class expertise and experience in a range of disciplines, as well as their geographic and gender diversity."SAGO will advise WHO on the development of a global framework to define and guide studies into the origins of emerging and re-emerging pathogens with epidemic and pandemic potential, including SARS-CoV-2," he said."The emergence of new viruses with the potential to spark epidemics and pandemics is a fact of nature, and while SARS-CoV-2 is the latest such virus, it will not be the last."A two-week public consultation period will take place for WHO to receive feedback on the proposed SAGO members.Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO Technical Lead on COVID-19, said the world must be better prepared for any future "Disease X".Answering a question, she stated that SAGO will recommend further studies in China, and potentially elsewhere, to understand the origins of the new coronavirus, UN News reported.While SAGO will advise WHO, any future missions will be organized by the UN agency and the country in question. "I want to make it very clear that the SAGO is not the next mission team. There's been some misrepresentation about that going forward," she said.A WHO-led team of scientists that travelled to China in early 2021 to investigate the origins of the virus struggled to get a clear picture of what research China was conducting beforehand, faced constraints during its visit, and had little power to conduct thorough and impartial research.( With inputs from ANI )Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

FudanFOLLOW

Fudan, Latest News

China is facing an electricity crisis, forcing factories to reduce operations, power consumption, and leading to outright blackouts in some provinces, according to multiple media reports. ...

New Delhi, Oct 15 Apple regained second place in the global smartphone market with 15 per cent share ... ...

A day after the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a launch of an expert group to study the origins of COVID-19, China on Thursday warned against "political manipulation" of the fresh investigation by the global health body. ...

China is facing an electricity crisis, forcing factories to reduce operations, power consumption, and leading to outright blackouts in some provinces, according to multiple media reports. ...

New Delhi, Oct 14 Microsoft is shutting down its business and employment-oriented online service LinkedIn in China, saying ... ...

Jaipur, Oct 14 Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday appealed to the people to make limited and ... ...

A person from the Uyghur minority community was not been released by the Chinese authorities even after the end of his 'sentence' and his family has no knowledge of his whereabouts. ...

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched an expert group that will study the origins of new pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. ...