(Karachi) Chinese researchers have claimed that the coronavirus existed in the Indian subcontinent before the Wuhan outbreak in December last year. They said that the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Wuhan but it does not mean the contagion originated from the central Chinese city, media reported on Sunday.

A study published in a paper by researchers at the Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences states that the coronavirus spread across several countries and China was the first one to detect it. The Chinese scientists claim that the coronavirus entered humans through contaminated water by animals. It then reached Wuhan from where the corona virus was first identified.

China also denied all reports and claims that says the virus spread through bats or pangolins at the Meat Market in Wuhan city. China also denied all claims made by the US in which it blamed China for the pandemic situation.

The paper used a method called phylogenetic analysis, a technique where scientists study the mutation of the virus to trace the origins of Covid-19.

As per the analysis, the method rules out Wuhan as a site of origin of the Coronavirus but nominates India and some other states as potential countries.

Chinese scientists made the observation that due to the lack of water, wild animals like monkeys often fight poorly for water, which will certainly increase the risk of contact between humans and wildlife.

The study highlighted that the spread of the coronavirus from animals to humans is due to abnormal heat. Chinese scientists also claimed that due to India’s poor health system and young population, the disease continued to spread without detection for several months.