This blog may help people explore some of the 'hidden' issues involved in certain media treatments of environmental and scientific issues. Using personal digital images, it's also intended to emphasise seasonal (and other) changes in natural history of the Swansea (South Wales) area. The material should help participants in field-based modules and people generally interested in the natural world. The views are wholly those of the author.
Sunday, 19 March 2023
Market Forces and Covid19?
The recirculated (in the US) hypothesis, that the Covid19 pandemic was caused by the virus escaping from a Chinese laboratory, has been dealt a further blow. Swabs from the live food market in Wuhan were gathered, at the time of the initial outbreak. Newly-released genetic data from these swabs have now tentatively linked Covid19 to Raccoon dogs and/or Civet cats (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/mar/17/covid-19-origins-raccoon-dogs-wuhan-market-data). This finding doesn't actually prove that any of the 'wild food animals' identified (by their DNA), triggered the world-wide Covid19 pandemic. Given the circumstances (location and elapsed time), getting absolute proof that Covid19 is simply a new zoonosis (a disease 'jumping' from animals to humans) is now very unlikely. This new data, however, makes it more likely the disease originated in Wuhan's live food market. Worryingly, people in China are returning to 'farming' wild animals for human consumption.
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