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New coronavirus can spread between humans, but started in a wildlife market

nationalgeographic.com

21–30 of 350 posts

Re: New coronavirus can spread between humans, but started in a wildlife market

#21
From what I've read it came from bats. Most probably bats being eaten.[1]

Bats have been the source of at least 4 pandemics. It's interesting to note that current coronavirus spreading in China and the SARS outbreak of 2003 have two things in common: Both are from the coronavirus family, and both were passed from animals to humans in a wet market.[2]

I tried to put together a page for coronavirus in China here where I tried to gather all the information in one place in order for us to easily follow stuff (https://thestrife.co/wuhan-coronavirus-media-coverage) and photos[3].

1. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xgqy3n/scientists-now-thi...

2. https://www.businessinsider.in/science/news/experts-think-th...

3. https://thestrife.co/wuhan-coronavirus-gallery

Re: New coronavirus can spread between humans, but started in a wildlife market

#22
>I think this is just a massive overcorrection due to China's 2003 SARS outbreak but we'll start seeing more and more of these large scale quarantines as our civilization comes to terms with the realities of cheap air travel.

I don't think is an "overcorrection". Lockdown is a top-level warning. Most Chinese people have no so much medical common sense, only a warning like this can stop them from trying to return home for the Chinese New Year.

Re: New coronavirus can spread between humans, but started in a wildlife market

#23
Key quote from the article:

> “If we were to shut the wildlife markets, a lot of these outbreaks would be a thing of the past,” says Ian Lipkin, director of Columbia University’s Center for Infection and Immunity, whose lab worked with Chinese officials to develop early diagnostic tests for SARS.

> That’s because both SARS and the new outbreak are zoonotic, meaning these diseases started in animals before spreading to humans. Zoonotic diseases rank among the world’s most infamous. HIV, Ebola, and H5N1 influenza, for example, all percolated in wildlife before close interactions with humans spawned international outbreaks. With SARS, food preparers and people who handled, killed, and sold wild animals made up nearly 40 percent of the first cases. The earliest episodes were also among people who were more likely to live within walking distance of wildlife markets.

Re: New coronavirus can spread between humans, but started in a wildlife market

#24

President Xi has warned that the virus is spreading. His intervention seems to be unprecedented. Is it worse than what it seems to be? They have quarantined whole cities and are building a hospital at war scale especially for this. Maybe the Chinese know something that the world doesn't know yet.

So far the virus is believed to have a two week incubation period with unknown transmissability during that time, which makes it particularly hard to contain, especially with a migration like Chinese New Year. The lockdown is unprecedented in China but the Soviet Union used to do similar lockdowns (at a smaller scale) during cholera outbreaks. I think this is just a massive overcorrection due to China's 2003 SARS out…

In 1963 during last outbreak of smallpox epidemic in Europe Wroclaw in Poland had been quarantined for 47 days.

[] https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/6nhzqd/54_years_ago...

Re: New coronavirus can spread between humans, but started in a wildlife market

#25

President Xi has warned that the virus is spreading. His intervention seems to be unprecedented. Is it worse than what it seems to be? They have quarantined whole cities and are building a hospital at war scale especially for this. Maybe the Chinese know something that the world doesn't know yet.

I would be more concerned if the ones that are outside of China were dying at high rates. So far I haven’t heard any of those quarantined people actually dying. The ones in the US have been listed in fair condition and recovering.

Re: New coronavirus can spread between humans, but started in a wildlife market

#26
Can someone explain https://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Blast.cgi?RID=2PUA1EJK114&CMD... to me?

This is a comparison between 'bat SARS-like coronavirus' and 'Wuhan seafood market pneumonia virus'. Under Alignments, it looks like the envelope proteins are identical. Wouldn't that be unlikely for a natural mutation? Would this not lead credence to this being a leak from their BSL-4 lab about twenty miles away from the Wuhan seafood market?

Thanks!

Re: New coronavirus can spread between humans, but started in a wildlife market

#27
post #23

Key quote from the article: > “If we were to shut the wildlife markets, a lot of these outbreaks would be a thing of the past,” says Ian Lipkin, director of Columbia University’s Center for Infection and Immunity, whose lab worked with Chinese officials to develop early diagnostic tests for SARS. > That’s because both SARS and the new outbreak are zoonotic, meaning these diseases started in animals before spreading t…

And it would also take away the livelihood of a lot of people...

Re: New coronavirus can spread between humans, but started in a wildlife market

#28
post #21

From what I've read it came from bats. Most probably bats being eaten.[1] Bats have been the source of at least 4 pandemics. It's interesting to note that current coronavirus spreading in China and the SARS outbreak of 2003 have two things in common: Both are from the coronavirus family, and both were passed from animals to humans in a wet market.[2] I tried to put together a page for coronavirus in China here where…

I’ve read virology reports that the virus originated most likely from bats but through an intermediary source — as to which animal, that’s unknown.

Another thing I’ve been pondering is since bats have been the source of deadly, infectious diseases in humans for so long, that’s where the historical myth of vampires and the living dead come from.

Re: New coronavirus can spread between humans, but started in a wildlife market

#29
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The worst thing you can do to the human immune system is to cease to expose it to pathogens.

It's not a dichotomy - removing animals from our diet does not leave a sterile environment for humans. Humans and their environment are plenty filthy on their own.

Then this is purely a vegan argument unrelated to the virus.

Re: New coronavirus can spread between humans, but started in a wildlife market

#30
I'm bordering on conspiracy theory territory here, but I'd also like an real investigation into whether the virus actually originated from the Wuhan Biosafety Laboratory. It's the only level 4 (BSL-4 highest rating) lab in all of China designated to handle the most dangerous pathogens. And it's located 20 miles from the reported epicenter in the wildlife market. It was first opened two years ago and at the time multiple scientists worried that the lack of an open culture could lead to potential security problems.

Was there some breach in containment security? Were experimented animals not disposed of properly? We don't know.

There might be nothing here, but it's a hell of a coincidence and if there's some broader security problem, it should be acknowledged and fixed.

Background on the lab: https://www.nature.com/news/inside-the-chinese-lab-poised-to...

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