<<"We're now as sure as we can be, based on the fragmentary evidence we do have, that this was a spillover event that happened in the market." Crowded, live animal markets, many scientists agree, provide an ideal transmission hotspot for new diseases to "spill over" from animals. And in the 18 months up to the beginning of the pandemic, a separate study showed that nearly 50,000 animals - of 38 different species - were sold at markets in Wuhan.>>