Early in this unforgettable year, a wet market in Wuhan, China, emerged as a possible step along the way, if not the place of origin, of the outbreak that would seed the pandemic of COVID-19. Prescient researchers have reached back to meat samples collected in 2013 and 2014 and used genetic testing to trace what might have happened again more recently: the magnification of viral infection from wild or farmed meat to large markets to restaurants. The report appears in PLoS ONE.
"This study shows the wildlife supply chain generates a one-two punch when it comes to spillover risk. It is known to increase contact rates between wildlife and people and here we show how it greatly amplifies the number of infected animals along the way," write Amanda E. Fine from the Wildlife Conservation Society, Viet Nam Country Program in Ha Noi and the Wildlife Conservation Society, Health Program, Bronx, New York, and colleagues.
COVID-19 was not a surprise to anyone familiar with the ways of viruses. A lot of folks weren't paying attention, even when repeatedly warned.
Collecting Rats
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