WHO urges halt to sale of live wild mammals
GENEVA: The World Health Organization called yesterday for a halt to the sale of live wild mammals in food markets to prevent the emergence of new diseases such as COVID-19. The WHO said because traditional markets play a central role in providing food and livelihoods for large populations, banning the sale of live wild mammals could protect the health of market workers and customers alike.
The call came in fresh guidance drawn up in conjunction the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). The three agencies said wild animals were the source of most emerging infectious diseases in humans and recommended measures to reduce the potential risk.
“COVID-19 has brought new attention to this threat, given the magnitude of its consequences,” WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told reporters. The agencies recalled that some of the earliest known cases of COVID-19 had links to a wholesale traditional food market in the Chinese city of Wuhan, with many of the initial patients stall owners, market employees or regular visitors to the market.
They added that samples from the Wuhan market suggested that it might be the source of the coronavirus pandemic’s outbreak and/or that it played a role in the initial amplification of the outbreak. They also said it was likely that SARS-CoV2 - the virus that causes COVID-19 disease - originated in wild animals, though how the virus made the species jump into humans is not yet known.
70 percent of emerging diseases
“WHO, OIE and UNEP call on all national competent authorities to suspend the trade in live caught wild animals of mammalian species for food or breeding and close sections of food markets selling live caught wild animals of mammalian species as an emergency measure unless demonstrable effective regulations and adequate risk assessment are in place,” they said.
The agencies said there was a strong association between sale of live wild animals in markets and the emergence of new viruses in humans. “Animals, particularly wild animals, are the source of more than 70 percent of all emerging infectious diseases in humans, many of which are caused by novel viruses. Wild mammals, in particular, pose a risk for the emergence of new diseases,” the guidance said.