A WHO official confirmed to Agence France-Presse that determining the origin of the emerging corona virus (Covid-19) would help to find out how quickly the epidemic "invaded" mankind.
Sylvian Brian, director of the World Health Organization for Epidemic Diseases, confirmed that the origin of the virus is necessary to understand how it evolves.
"It is an animal virus and it has spread to humans. We must try to understand how the adaptation of this virus allowed it to invade the human race," Brian told "France Press" outside the organization's headquarters in Geneva.
Brian, who ran the WHO's influenza program during the 2009 swine flu epidemic, added that tracking the source of the virus by detecting intermediates that carry it will prevent the recurrence of the phenomenon and prevent the re-introduction and transmission of infection between humans and animals.
"Every time that transmission occurs from one type to another, there may be a change in the virus. This will affect treatments - it may develop resistance - while vaccines may no longer be effective enough."
She continued: "At the moment there are still a lot of mysterious elements despite the thousands and thousands of samples that were taken, especially from many animals in Wuhan market as well as from dogs in Hong Kong, and the analysis will take time."