While research shows SARS-CoV-2 wasn't made in a lab, its emergence in the same city as the WIV has raised suspicions and inspired widespread speculation. Even if it evolved naturally, for example, a popular theory suggests the virus could have escaped after researchers collected it from the wild.

Wildlife species linked to SARS-CoV-2 in Wuhan's Huanan Seafood Market, shedding light on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Samples taken in the pandemic's early weeks reinforce hypothesis that coronavirus emerged from live animal market, not a laboratory, new study says.

A recent international study offers new insights into the wildlife species likely present at the Wuhan market where SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind the COVID-19 pandemic, is believed to have emerged in late 2019.