COVID-19 possibly transmitted from animals to humans: WHO report

WASHINGTON, March 31 (Xinhua) -- A newly-released World Health Organization (WHO) report said that animals probably transmit the novel coronavirus to the human being in two scenarios, yet the origin-tracing of the virus remains underway.

One contagion scenario "very likely" is that the virus spread through an intermediate animal host, possibly a wild animal captured and then raised on a farm, CNN reported on Wednesday.

Yet the report, published on Tuesday, has not yet found what animals could carry the disease in the scenario. "The possible intermediate host of SARS-CoV-2 remains elusive," it said.

The other scenario is that animals, such as bats or pangolins, carrying a similar coronavirus spread the disease to humans, according to the report.

The report also found that a "possible pathway" lies in transmission from cold food products, while spreading through a laboratory incident was "an extremely unlikely pathway."