Jonathan Ball

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A trafficked pangolin in Kuala Lumpur : The Animal is a suspect in the outbreak

The race to find out how the deadly coronavirus jumped from animals to humans. Helen Briggs looks at how scientists are trying to track The Source of the outbreak.

Somewhere in China, a bat flits across the sky, leaving a trace of the Corona Virus in their feces that fall to The Forest floor. A wild animal, maybe a pangolin snuffling for insects under The Leaves , the infection from the feces.

The novel virus is circulating in The Animal world. Finally, an infected animal is detected, and a person, the kind of the disease starts, then it goes to workers at a wildlife market. A Global Outbreak is born.

the scientists are trying to prove The Truth of this scenario, how they work, to accommodate Wild Animals to The Virus . Search the order of the events is "a bit of a Detective Story ," says Prof Andrew Cunningham from the Zoological society of London (ZSL). A number of wild animal Species , could be The Host , he says, in particular, Bats , which harbour a large number of different corona viruses.

corona viruses under the microscope

So, how much do we know about the "Spill-over" event, as it is commonly known in the trade? When scientists cracked, taken from The Body of a patient, Bats were involved in China.

The Mammals congregate in large colonies, fly long distances and are Present on all continents. They rarely get sick, But have the possibility of pathogen spread far and wide. According to Prof Kate Jones , University College London, there is Some evidence that Bats have on the energetic requirements of flight, and are better on the repair of DNA damage. "This could make it possible to cope with a higher load of The Virus before you get sick - But this is just to Present an idea. "

There is No Doubt that the behavior of the Bats viruses can thrive. "If you look at the way in which you live, then you are going to have a large range of viruses," says Prof Jonathan Ball from the University of Nottingham. "And because they are mammals, there is a possibility that Some of them can infect humans, either directly or through an intermediate host. "

Most infections are in China, But other Nations are against The Virus

The second part of The Puzzle , then, is the knowledge of The Mystery animal, the BSE virus in your body, and may finally be on the market in Wuhan. There is a suspicion for the Smoking Gun of the dinosaur.

The ant devours, scaly mammal, said to be The Most trafficked mammal in The World , is threatened with extinction. The Animal scales are in high demand in Asia for use in traditional Chinese medicine, while pangolin meat is considered a delicacy by Some .

were found in pangolins, Some claimed that there is a close conformity of the novel human virus. Could have traded the-bat-virus and pangolin-virus, genetics, before the People ? Experts are cautious about the conclusions. Full data on the pangolin-study was not published, so that The Information are impossible to check.

officials seize civets in Xinyuan wildlife market in Guangzhou, in order to prevent the spread of SARS

Prof Cunningham says, the origin and the number of examined you, for the research to be particularly important. "For example, there were several animals sampled directly in The Wild (in this case, the results would be more useful), or a single animal from a captive environment, or Wet Market , is sampled (in the case of inferences about the true variety of The Virus couldn't be made to be robust)?"

they and other wild animal Species , including a variety of bat Species , are often sold in the wet markets, he says, and provide opportunities for viruses to move from one Species to another. "Wet markets, so the ideal conditions for the spread of the pathogen from one Species to another, including the People . "

the port can camels the novel coronavirus, MERS

The market in Wuhan, which was closed after the outbreak, had a wild animal area, where live and slaughtered Species were for sale, including add-on Body Parts , camels, koalas and birds. a stock at a store listed live wolf puppies, golden cicadas, Scorpions, bamboo, rats, squirrels, foxes, civets, hedgehogs (probably porcupines), salamanders, turtles, and crocodiles.

as far as we know, Bats and they were not listed, But the authorities in China have the intelligence, what were sold the animals, said Prof Ball. "If the spillover happens once, you want to know whether or not this kind of thing can happen again, because it is important the point of view of Public Health ," he says. "And so you need to know exactly what kind of animal is it and what are the risks to the occasion, that Spill-over event. "

Many of the viruses we are familiar have not been exceeded in recent years and no longer from Wild Animals . This is the story of Ebola, HIV, Severe Acute Respiratory syndrome (Sars) and now coronavirus. Prof Jones says that the increase in infectious diseases events from The Animal world could be the as a result of our increasing ability to recognize, growing connections to all other, or more interventions in the natural habitats, thus "changing landscapes, and has come not to be detected in contact with new viruses in the population".

Bats sold to an Indonesian market this month

If we understand The Risk factors, we can take measures to prevent it from happening in the First Place -without affecting the Wild Animals , said Prof Cunningham. Conservationists are hints at the pain to the fact that, although the Bats are thought to carry many viruses, they are also essential for the function of ecosystems. "Insect-eating Bats eat huge quantities of insects such as mosquitoes and pests, while the flying foxes trees and spread their seeds pollinate," he says. "It is imperative that these Species are not culled by misguided 'disease control' measures. "

According to Sars in 2002-3, caused by a very similar coronavirus, which today is emerging in China and beyond, it was a temporary ban The Wild animal markets. But the markets quickly jumped once again on China, Vietnam and other parts of South-East Asia.

China has suspended the purchase and sale of wild animal products, which are often used for food, fur and traditional medicine. I suggest this can be made permanent.

While we perhaps, will never know exactly how or where the disease caused many deaths, which means the dip in the People , Prof Diana Bell of the University of East Anglia , we can prevent another "perfect storm". "We are bringing together of animals from different countries, different habitats, different life styles related to aquatic animals, mammals, animals, and so on-and mix them together, and it is a kind of Melting Pot and we have to stop to do it. "

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Source of news: bbc.com