China’s coronavirus that is spreading all over the world is a very real and deadly threat. Experts warn people not to take this lightly.
As China does all it can within their jurisdiction to contain the deadly coronavirus outbreak, their “wet markets” – food markets that sell live and dead animals – are being investigated by local authorities as the viral epidemic’s “ground zero.”
The wet market located in the city of Wuhan is believed to be the source of this viral outbreak. The vendors allegedly sell meat of over 100 different animals including live rats, wolf puppies, porcupines, exotic snakes, live peacocks and even koalas – all to be eaten – according images seen on social media.
Last Wednesday, state authorities just made a ban on the sale of live animals in wet markets. Huanan Seafood Market, located in the central city of Wuhan has already been closed since January 1.
The director of Chinese agency that is in charge of controlling and preventing diseases, Dr. Gao Fu, has confirmed that the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) – came from “wild animals at the seafood market” although did not give any more specific information. The first victims have been reported to be employees at the Wuhan market.
This wet market is filled with rows and rows or narrow lanes that are cluttered with butches, salesmen and buyers looking to buy and sell raw and live meat. Business Insider reported that people are in constant contact with dead and live animals in this market, making it perfectly easy for the virus to come in contact to the human population from their animal hosts.
More commonly eaten animals like pigs, chickens, shrimp and dog are sold in this market, but there is also a vast array of exotic options that can be bought like crocodile tongue, giant salamanders and civets.
According to AFP, Chinese consumption of civet meat was the reason for the 2003 deadly outbreak of the acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The SARS virus originally came from bats, which was also found being sold in hot soups all over the wildlife markets in China.
One vendor in the Wuhan market had an advertisement:
“Freshly slaughtered, frozen and delivered to your door. Wild Game Animal Husbandry for the Masses.”
While the local Chinese authorities have stopped illegal trafficking of wild species since the SARS outbreak, conservationists believe that their regulations are still too lax, especially for those animals that are farmed for commercial purposes.
Exotic species like turtles are seen as delicacies in China and other Asia countries because of their mythical and unproven medicinal benefits. Consumption of live animals and exotic animals are also seen as a high symbol of social status in China.
However, some live animal sales have shocked even the locals at how far Chinese would go.
Once Chinese social network user posted online in Weibo:
“Just took a closer look at the viral wild animal menu – they even eat koalas.”
Another user replied:
“There’s nothing Chinese people won’t eat.”
Dr. Christian Walzer, executive director of the U.S. based Wildlife Conservation Society’s Health Program came out with a statement saying:
“Chinese scientists believe the Wuhan Coronavirus originated in wildlife sold illegally in a live animal market. This virus is closely related to SARS and it now appears the spill-over to humans followed a similar transmission path. China closed Wuhan markets where this new virus was tracked back to – but similar markets occur in other cities across China and other Asian countries.
If these markets persist, and human consumption of illegal and unregulated wildlife persists, then the public will continue to face heightened risks from emerging new viruses, potentially more lethal and the source of future pandemic spread.
Poorly regulated live animal markets, where wild animals, farmed-wildlife, and domestic animals are transported from across the regions and housed together to sell for human consumption provide ideal conditions for the emergence of new viruses that threaten human health, economic stability, and ecosystem health.”
In the meantime, the capital, Beijing is struggling with keeping the coronavirus under control by imposing a quarantine on three cities that have had 17 residents die and 640 infected.
Experts have also warned that the possibility of the deadly virus spreading to Australia is very likely.
“We do have a lot of traffic from China and I think it’s quite possible we will get some cases here but I’m very confident that we’re well prepared to respond if we do,” Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy mentioned.
There has already been one case of a person in Sydney being quarantined for possibly having the symptoms of the deadly virus, as reported by the health authorities in Australia.
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