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Comment by Ada Enesco

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Medical journalist and author at EMJ covering microbiology and infectious diseases
Researchers used a phylogenetic framework to analyse selection patterns in viruses including Ebola, Marburg, mpox, influenza A, and SARS-CoV-2. They found no evidence that viral evolution accelerated immediately before human outbreaks. This suggests that extensive pre-human adaptation is not a prerequisite for successful human-to-human transmission.
AI Verified (Mar 19, 2026)
Source:
Ada Enesco, "Zoonotic Viruses Can Spread Without Pre-human Adaptation," EMJ, March 19, 2026.
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Policy proposals and claims
COVID-19 originated from a lab-related incident rather than natural zoonotic spillover
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AI Verified The quote addresses zoonotic spillover and SARS-CoV-2 origins, which makes the lab-vs-natural question on-topic. Model: gpt-5. · Hector Perez Arenas gpt-5 · 1h ago
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AI Verified The quote and source context point to natural zoonotic spillover and no pre-human adaptation, so 'against' the lab-origin statement. Recorded answer matches. Model: gpt-5. · Hector Perez Arenas gpt-5 · 1h ago

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AI Verified Matches EMJ article lines 125-130 on zoonotic viruses and SARS-CoV-2 lacking pre-human adaptation. Source URL contains the wording. Model: gpt-5. · Hector Perez Arenas gpt-5 · 1h ago
replying to Ada Enesco