End Infectious Disease Outbreaks by Stopping Wildlife Trade
Animal conservationists are sending out the message that if humans want to prevent future disease outbreaks, an end must be put to global wildlife trade.
Grace Ge Gabriel, Regional Director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) in Asia said that wildlife trade is no longer no longer just a conservation issue but already a matter of national security and biosafety issues. The IFAW stresses that for as long as trading of tens of millions of wildlife persists in Southeast Asia, the threats of infectious diseases will likewise continue.
Historical Data of Recent Epidemics Serve as Proofs
Conservationists are basing their claims on historical data pertaining to the most recent epidemics during the past 20 years.
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS
SARS broke out in 2002 and was also caused by a novel betacoronavirus that came from bats. The virus was subsequently transferred to masked palm civets that were widely traded in China, being a much sought after a delicacy.
In the province of Guangdong in China, the wealthy pay a high price for exotic dishes that include wildlife meat as ingredient, like the palm civet. Although virologists say that the coronavirus in wildlife cannot infect humans if the animal is cooked, the coronavirus infection could have shifted to humans who raised the animals, and later to those who slaughtered them and prepared the raw meat for cooking.
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)
The MERS outbreak in the Middle East in 2012 was also a coronavirus disease that came from bats,which infected dromedary camels. Infected camels, in turn, transmitted the disease to humans through direct and indirect contact. Since the passing of the virus was through camels, MERS cases occurred mostly in the Arabian Peninsula.
African Swine Fever (ASF)
Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, ASF swept through China, Vietnam, Philippines, South Korea and several other countries. The disease, which is considered as deadly but not contagious, can be contracted when the meat of ASF infected pigs are consumed even when cooked. ASF is said to originate from wild boars but its spread can occur in commercial piggeries.
The Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) continues to report global cases of ASF occurring in other countries. The most recent SHIC global report published last May 05, 2020, reported that 450 farms in Poland were ordered to shut down due to the spread of ASF that has infected more than 30,000 pigs.