The birth of Covid-19 virus
Illegal trafficking in wildlife and the overexploitation of nature are factors behind the spread of new diseases like coronavirus, a new report says.
The Covid-19 outbreak follows a number of diseases that have emerged in recent decades and originated in animals, such as Ebola, Aids, SARS, avian influenza and swine flu.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) says changes in land use that bring wildlife, livestock and humans into closer contact, facilitate the spread of disease, including new strains of bacteria and viruses.
The conservation organisation also says an illegal and uncontrolled trade of live wild animals creates ‘‘dangerous opportunities for contact between humans and the diseases these creatures carry.’’
The Covid-19 outbreak is believed to have originated in the Huanan animal market in Wuhan, in the Chinese province of Hubei, in December 2019.
‘‘Wet markets’’ are marketplaces that sell fresh food such as meat and fish, but some also sell live, exotic wildlife.
It’s been reported the Huanan market offered foxes, wolf cubs, civets, turtles, and snakes.
The outbreak among humans of viruses previously circulating only in the animal world is a phenomenon known as spillover. Zoonoses are infectious diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans.
‘‘Zoonoses of wildlife origin represent one of the most significant threats to the health of the world population,’’ the report says. ‘‘Three quarters of human diseases known to date come from other animals, and 60 per cent of emerging diseases have been transmitted by wild animals.
‘‘Zoonoses each year cause around one billion cases of disease and millions of deaths with incalculable human consequences.’’
It’s not yet known which animal species acted as intermediate hosts for Covid-19, but research has pointed to bats, sold live and slaughtered in Chinese markets. Similarities have also been found between the disease and coronaviruses carried by Malayan pangolins, which are sought after for their scales, used in traditional Asian medicine, or their meat.
The report notes that recurrent outbreaks of Ebola have been linked to the hunting, butchering, and processing of meat from infected wild animals.
Bushmeat consumption is growing dramatically in many parts of the world and there is a lucrative illegal international market. But handling and cooking practices do not follow food safety standards, illegal ‘farms’ are unregulated and the close proximity of different species in animal markets increases the chances of spillover into new species, The Loss of Nature and Rise of Pandemics report says.
China recently banned the eating of wild animals and announced a crackdown on illegal and unregulated wildlife trade. But the global market is worth an estimated US$7-23 billion per year.
The Australian government recently called for G20 countries to take action on wildlife wet markets, calling them a ‘‘biosecurity and human health risk’’.
WWF is urging other countries to quickly adopt similar prohibitions and regulations. A survey carried out across Hong Kong, Japan, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, conducted in March, found 93 per cent of 5000 respondents would support the closure of illegal and unregulated markets selling wild animals.
Nearly 80 per cent felt shuttering unregulated markets would be effective at preventing similar pandemics from occurring in the future.
Livia Esterhazy, WWF NZ chief executive
WWF NZ chief executive Livia Esterhazy said Covid-19 is a ‘‘really clear warning signal.’’
‘‘We have a world and an environment completely out of balance,’’ Esterhazy said. ‘‘The rise of pandemics is absolutely linked to the destruction and the loss of nature. This pandemic is not the first, it certainly won’t be the last. And they’re actually going to get worse and worse.’’
She said the report also points to deforestation, the loss of habitats, and a decline in biodiversity as factors in the spread of emerging infectious diseases.
‘‘By destroying forests, wildlife that lived in those forests are now coming into greater contact with humans.’’
Esterhazy said the report illustrates the links between humanity’s impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity and the spread of certain diseases.
‘‘The rise of pandemics is absolutely linked to the destruction and the loss of nature.’’