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The Wuhan coronavirus may come from a pangolin, according to a Chinese study. However, in the history of the transmission of a dangerous pathogen from animal to human, there are still more questions than answers.
The pangolin owes everything?
The search for answers to the question of how the coronavirus spread from animals to humans is ongoing. Scientists from South China Agricultural University in early February reported that the intermediate host for the pathogen could be a pangolin.
Initially, suspicion fell on two species of snakes, but after examining over a thousand samples from wild animals, the Chinese found that the genome sequence of the virus collected from infected patients in 99 percent corresponds to the genome sequence of the pangolin virus. The animal is sold at Chinese markets – for scales used in traditional medicine, as well as for meat considered a delicacy. The epidemic began in a wild animal market, which may confirm the thesis that the virus was incubating pangolins in its body.
Wuhan market – unknown
But where did the pathogen come from in this South Asian mammal? The leading theory is that it is via bat feces that carry different types of coronaviruses. The sequence of events, however, still remains an unsolved mystery.
Experts are careful to draw any conclusions. The complete data on the pangolins research has not been made available, which makes it impossible to verify the information.
According to the report of the British daily “The Guardian”, There are neither pangolins nor bats on the list of animals traded in Wuhan. Instead, there are wolf cubs, camels, koalas, golden cicadas, bamboo rats, squirrels, foxes, civets, hedgehogs, turtles, scorpions, salamanders and crocodiles.
Several epidemics began with wild animals
Many of the viruses that caused epidemics spread from wild animals. This was the case with Ebola, HIV, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and now the coronavirus. According to prof. Kate Jones (University College London), who spoke to the BBC, the increase in the incidence of infectious diseases caused by contact with wildlife may be due to human encroachment into wild habitats, changing landscapes, as well as better communication between people. Such infections are increasingly detected thanks to medical advances.
Following the SARS virus epidemic in 2002–2003, a temporary ban on the sale of wild animals in marketplaces was imposed. But sellers in China, Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia re-entered the markets very quickly. Now China has suspended trade in wildlife products again – food, fur, traditional medicines.
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