New clues! U.S. lobster exports or the "Pandora's Box" of rapid spread of the new crown virus

◎ Science and Technology Daily intern reporter Zhang Jiaxin

2022 is just around the corner, but the COVID-19 pandemic is still spreading, and scientists are still investigating the origin of the new crown virus.

Recently, it has been reported that the export of lobster from Maine in the United States is suspected of becoming the path of early transmission of the new crown virus.

As for the possible route of transmission of the new crown virus through the cold chain, it was clarified as early as march this year in the study report of the China-WHO Joint Expert Group on the Traceability of the New Crown Virus.

The report said the coronavirus has been found to persist in frozen foods, packaging and cold chain products. The detection of the virus in some cases in China, as well as on packaging and products in other countries that supply cold-chain products to China, suggests that it can be transmitted over long distances through cold-chain products. The report argues that investigating the potential early spread of the coronavirus in other countries is "important."

The coronavirus is suspected of spreading through the cold chain of U.S. lobster exports

According to sales, logistics and customs declaration records, from October to November 2019 before the outbreak of the new crown epidemic in Wuhan Huanan Seafood Market, Merchant A was the only merchant in the entire market that operated US cold chain products. Merchant A bought a batch of American lobsters in mid-November and has not purchased American cold chain products since then.

After December 2019, some hospitals in Wuhan have found a number of confirmed cases of new crown pneumonia with a history of exposure to the Huanan seafood market. At this time, it has been about a month since this batch of American seafood entered the Huanan seafood market, which means that the virus has a certain incubation period.

The batch of American lobster ordered by the X Company Online Platform was packaged by the American Sea shell company. Founded in 2011, the company is a wholesaler specializing in sourcing fresh North Atlantic lobster from the United States and Canada. From October 20 to November 5, 2019, the company caught lobsters exported to China from the waters of FAO21 in the Atlantic Ocean, and shipped to Haibei's factory temporarily stored lobsters before exporting. After the Chinese customer places an order, the lobster is shipped to China through the cold chain.

Some people suspect that the cold chain exports of these American lobsters may be the "Pandora's Box" for the rapid spread of the new crown virus. Looking back at the so-called "suspected new coronavirus pneumonia" (or "e-cigarette pneumonia") that was erupting in Maine, where Haibei was located at the time, these suspicions seem to have traces.

Lobster export site in July 2019 "e-cigarette pneumonia"

The American Seashell Company is headquartered in Maine. From July to the end of October 2019, the Maine Cd-operative Center, local media, and residents' personal social accounts repeatedly reported or reported cases of "e-cigarette pneumonia" that have been kept secret in the United States, and the flu season in the United States is generally from November to June of the following year, but "e-cigarette pneumonia" appeared in early July, which is very strange.

The PBS website reported on September 13, 2019, that in the United States, the outbreak of this lung disease began in the Midwest in July. Health officials said Sept. 12 that at least 36 U.S. states have cumulatively reported 380 confirmed and suspected cases.

BangorDailyNews reported on September 20, 2019, that the U.S. state of Maine reported the first case of e-cigarette-related lung disease. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of the same day (September 20, 2019), diseases related to the use of e-cigarettes have caused 530 cases of lung disease nationwide.

According to information released by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as early as July 2019, the hospital in York County, where Haibei's factory is located, received many patients with "e-cigarette pneumonia". From the map, the hospital is less than 2.6 km away by car from Haibei Company.

Are all the doubts just coincidences?

Numerous studies have shown the possibility of the new crown virus spreading through the cold chain

In fact, the scientific community already has plenty of evidence to suggest that attention should be paid to the possibility of cold chain transmission of the new crown virus.

On February 26 this year, Nature published an article saying that the new crown virus can be transmitted through infected frozen wild animals. The ongoing investigation in China by the World Health Organization's Joint Expert Group on COVID-19 Traceability Does Not Rule Out this mode of transmission that led to the early outbreak of COVID-19.

Dominique Dwyer, a virologist at Health Pathology in Sydney, Australia, a member of the joint expert group, said: "We all agree that cold chain products (transmission) are a reasonable assumption" and need to be considered.

The article also cites research findings that mention that it is feasible for the coronavirus to spread on the surface of frozen products. For example, a preprint (without peer review) published by researchers in Singapore on bioRxiv in August 2020 found that the coronavirus can remain infectious on the surface of frozen or chilled meat for more than 3 weeks.

Andrew Bright, a veterinary epidemiologist at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, said that if frozen or thawed animal carcasses are infected with the virus, touching those animals can pose a risk of infection. This is especially true for intermediate host animals, as their immune systems are not suitable for fighting off infections and can easily release large amounts of virus.

On August 27 this year, the American magazine "Science" published an article jointly written by researchers from many countries, including well-known virologists and Professor David Robertson of the Virus Research Center of the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom, pointing out that genetic evidence negates the leakage of virus laboratories and believes that the possibility of cold chain transmission of viruses should be paid attention to in the traceability of the new crown virus.

On October 3 this year, the Willy Online Library published a paper that reviewed food safety issues in the covid-19 pandemic and revealed possible transmission in cold-chain foods. Studies of food cold chain contamination have shown that the new coronavirus remains highly stable under refrigerated (4°C) and even freezing conditions (-10°C to -80°C).