The Outbreaks of both the Wuhan Coronavirus and SARS Likely Started in Chinese Wet Markets
SPOTLIGHT, 3 Feb 2020
Aylin Woodward | Business Insider – TRANSCEND Media Service
Emergency staff in protective suits check the body of a man who collapsed and died in the street in Wuhan on 20 Jan 2020.
Photograph: Héctor Retamal/AFP via Getty Images
Photos Show What the Markets Look Like
- A coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China, has killed at least 213 people and infected more than 9,800.
- The Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market in Wuhan might have been the starting point of the outbreak. It was shuttered on January 1.
- At many wet markets, meat is sold alongside a variety of live animals. But on January 22, Wuhan authorities banned the trade of live animals at wet markets.
- Here’s what the markets look like.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
1 Feb 2020 – The coronavirus spreading in China and the SARS outbreak of 2003 have two things in common: Both are from the coronavirus family, and both likely started in wet markets.
At such markets, outdoor stalls are squeezed together to form narrow lanes, where locals and visitors shop for cuts of meat and ripe produce. A stall selling hundreds of caged chickens may abut a butcher counter, where meat is chopped as nearby dogs watch hungrily. Some vendors hock skinned hares, while seafood stalls display glistening fish and shrimp.
Wet markets put people and live and dead animals — dogs, chickens, pigs, snakes, civets, and more — in constant close contact. That makes it easy for a virus to jump from animal to human.
On January 22, authorities in Wuhan, China — where the current outbreak started — banned the trade of live animals at wet markets. The specific market where the outbreak might have begun, the Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market, was shuttered on January 1. The coronavirus that emerged there has so far killed at least 213 people and infected more than 9,800.
“Poorly regulated, live-animal markets mixed with illegal wildlife trade offer a unique opportunity for viruses to spillover from wildlife hosts into the human population,” the Wildlife Conservation Society said in a statement.
Coronaviruses are zoonotic diseases, meaning they spread to people from animals. In the case of SARS, and likely this Wuhan coronavirus outbreak as well, bats were the original hosts. The bats then infected other animals, which transmitted the virus to humans.
Here’s what Chinese wet markets look like:
TO SEE PHOTOS AND REPORT Go to Original – businessinsider.com
DISCLAIMER: The statements, views and opinions expressed in pieces republished here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of TMS. In accordance with title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. TMS has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is TMS endorsed or sponsored by the originator. “GO TO ORIGINAL” links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the “GO TO ORIGINAL” links. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.