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Eating isn't the issue, and it's not the "exotic" animals that are generally the issue. It's the widespread exposure to large populations of animals that act as
by JshWright 7y ago
Eating isn't the issue, and it's not the "exotic" animals that are generally the issue. It's the widespread exposure to large populations of animals that act as reservoirs for these viruses (where they can run through many, many generations very quickly and spread once a variant that is transmissible to humans pops up)
- tanilama 7y agoI would argue it is the eating that creates a market and incentive for such encounter to happen in the first place.
- JshWright 7y agoThe previous Coronavirus (SARS) to come out of China was traced back to wild bats (that were not being sold in markets). It remains to be determined where 2019-nCoV originated. Most of the diseases that come out of China and spread to any great extent are avian or swine flus, which originate in chickens and pigs on massive, largely unregulated, farms.
- S_AU 7y agoI think when you compare the scale and scope of SARS with the WNV, I think there should be slightly less finger pointing. The US, North America and Europe are not immune to sharing their viruses globally. Lets not pretend 'the west' has the problem of virus control sorted. It starting there less often because there are less wild and animals around.
- JshWright 7y agoOh absolutely. I don't necessarily agree with the top level comment (or at least I think it's incomplete, as you've described).