中新网评：新冠病毒溯源为何成了美国的“政治工具”？

中新网北京7月8日电(蒋鲤)新冠肺炎疫情正在全球范围内广泛传播。截至目前，已有多国先后在早前的血液、咽拭子、活检、污水等样本中发现新冠病毒，且早于本国目前已知的最早传播时间。

　　美国研究人员6月15日在本国《临床传染病》杂志上发布最新研究报告，对2020年1月2日至3月18日期间从全美50个州采集的24079个血液样本进行了新冠抗体检测和分析。结果发现，有9个样本呈抗体阳性，其中7例来自伊利诺伊州等5个州的病例，时间早于这5个州官方公布的首例确诊病例时间。这表明新冠病毒2019年12月就已在美国出现。

　　无独有偶，加利福尼亚大学洛杉矶分校此前也曾发布报告称，新冠病毒可能早在2019年12月就已存在于洛杉矶地区。

　　除美国之外，日本从2019年年初的血液样本发现了新冠病毒抗体，意大利、法国分别在2019年12月采集到的活检样本和咽拭子样本中检测出新冠病毒。西班牙、巴西等国的研究人员也分别在当地报告最早确诊病例之前的废水样本中找到了新冠病毒存在的痕迹。这些发现不断改写着新冠病毒传播的时间线。

　　多国科学家和研究人员都在尽力探寻新冠病毒传播的时间点，追溯疫情的起源，以求尽早攻破这一全球大流行疾病。然而，美国一些别有用心的政客和媒体，却在病毒溯源问题上始终将矛头对准中国。他们无视世卫组织的调查结果，对本国的病毒溯源问题只字不提，对一些反对“武汉实验室泄漏”阴谋论的科学家进行政治打压和人身攻击。

　　究其原因，是美国对中国的发展感到焦虑，深恐威胁到其世界霸主地位。他们需要寻找各种借口诋毁和打压中国，让中国处于国际舆论的风口浪尖，这也是他们一贯使用的伎俩。奉劝美西方不要企图将病毒溯源当作抑制中国发展的“政治工具”，而是通过客观、公正的科技手段，来研究新冠病毒的起源工作，以期尽早“击败”新冠病毒。

COVID-19 origin-tracing 'political tool' used against China

By John Lee

(ECNS) – The COVID-19 pandemic is spreading widely around the world. To date, the coronavirus has been found in blood, throat swabs, biopsies, sewage and other samples in various countries, often earlier than the earliest known transmission time.

A study published in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal on June 15 found that people in five U.S. states were infected with the virus in December 2019. U.S. researchers said that there was evidence of infection in nine out of 24,079 people whose blood samples were taken between Jan. 2, 2020, and March 18. The samples that tested positive for the virus came from Illinois, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. This indicates that the COVID-19 had appeared in the U.S. in December 2019.

It coincides with a previous report issued by UCLA that stated the coronavirus may have existed in the Los Angeles area as early as December 2019.

In addition to the U.S., COVID-19 antibodies were detected in blood samples tested in Japan in early 2019. The coronavirus was also found in biopsy samples collected in Italy and in throat swab samples from France, both in December 2019. Researchers from Spain and Brazil also found traces of the virus in wastewater samples before the earliest confirmed cases were reported locally. These discoveries are constantly rewriting the timeline of the emergence of the coronavirus.

Scientists from many countries are trying their best to determine the origin of COVID-19 and its earliest transmission. However, some U.S. politicians and media have overtly targeted China regarding COVID-19 tracing. They purposefully ignore WHO investigation reports, remain mute on origin-tracing in their own country, and conduct political crackdowns and personal attacks on scientists who oppose the "lab-leak" conspiracy theory.

The reasons? The U.S. is anxious about China's growth and fears that it may threaten its world dominance. They have to find excuses to slander and suppress China, and put China on the spot. The U.S. is good at playing these tricks. The U.S. should stop using COVID-19 origin-tracing as a "political tool" to restrain the development of China. Instead, it should research the origin through objective and impartial scientific means, so as to beat the pandemic.