Wildlife Trade Linked to Virus
Many of the viruses that make us sick originate in animals. For example, influenza viruses come from birds and pigs, HIV Aids comes from chimpanzees and the Ebola virus originated in bats. In the case of the current COVID-19 coronavirus, there’s evidence it went from a bat to a pangolin (anteater) before affecting a human.
While it’s rare for such a virus to make this journey, the wildlife wet markets in Wuhan, China, where it most likely originated, give us a strong clue to its uprising. Both SARS and COVID-19 are in the coronavirus family and both appear to have emerged from animals in China’s notorious wildlife markets.
Experts have long predicted that these markets, known to be potential sources of disease, would enable another outbreak. The markets and the wildlife trade that supports them are the underlying problem of these pandemics. And until China solves that problem, more are likely to emerge. Here’s more from Vox.
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