Lesson from China

 After the outbreak of the Wuhan virus also known as COVID-19 , it was another confirmation that wet markets were one of the main causes for spread of the virus. It has also led to serious debates about the well known Chinese culinary habits. The Chinese are known to eat almost everything that moves. China is the worlds biggest market in sale of banned wildlife species. China is one of the largest consumers of wild animals for food and use in traditional Chinese medicine in the world. A large volume of illegal trade has been recorded in the primary cities. According to a recent study, it was found that the most frequently used animal groups by quantity were reptiles (51%), followed by birds (21%) and mammals (10%). China’s reform and economic growth has resulted in an increasingly prosperous population in the region who can afford expensive wild animals, increasing the incentive to trap animals. Not only eating whatever meat, the Chinese hold some belief in the efficacy of certain wildlife species. Although the medicinal benefits of many wildlife products have not been proven scientifically, yet the belief in the system is strong. Bears are killed mainly for bile said to be treatment for some diseases. Even pangolin scales are held as efficacy for those suffering from infertility and aphrodisiacal properties of rhino horns.. Similarly, Tiger skins, claws, teeth and elephant tusks are also supposed to hold medicinal value. Bamboo rats are particularly popular as they are a delicacy eaten in parts of southern China. The list of animal including wildlife species that the Chinese use for consumption and for ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine is indeed very vast. The consumption of animal meat both domesticated or wild runs into several lakh crore rupees annually with wildlife species including endangered or extinct species valued at more than Rs.five lakh crore.The outbreak of the Wuhan virus has been a rude shock to the Chinese including other Asian nations as wet market where all varieties of meat including seafood are sold, were identified as the source of spread of the deadly virus. Different viruses spread easily if animals such as badgers, wolf pups, snakes, bamboo rats, bats, squirrels, raccoons and porcupines etc are kept in cramped, dirty conditions in market cages. From these places, the viruses can easily spread to handlers or customers through bodily fluids. Numerous infectious diseases, including HIV and Ebola, have their origins in close contact between humans and wild animals, and this looks set to be the case for COVID-19, which scientists have tentatively concluded originated in bats. The China syndrome should also set as an example for many other tribes about the inherent health risks from unhygienic wet markets. The American Public Health Organisation has called for a ban on concentrated animal feeding operations while the WHO has also raised alarm about the spread of multi-drug resistant infectious disease agents from industrial animal food production. These should result in tightening of rules and regulations over all meat, poultry and fish markets so as to ensure that health safety comes first.