Pangolin Identified as Potential Link for Novel Coronavirus Spread
Experts claim that the endangered pangolin identified as the link that facilitated the spread of coronavirus across China, according to South China Agricultural University.
The deadly virus is said to have originated from bats sold at a live animal market in Wuhan City, China in 2019. But based on researchers’ research and experiments, it is likely that its intermediate host is the pangolin.
According to the report of Reuters, after testing more than 1,000 samples from wild animals, scientists from the university found the genome sequences of viruses found on pangolins to be 99 percent identical to those on coronavirus patients, the official Xinhua news agency reported Friday.
In our previous report, the pangolin has been listed as “endangered” for the past seven years and its recent reclassification to the IUCN threatened species list as critically endangered. It means that the extinction of the so-called “world’s most trafficked mammals” is imminent.
They are destined for markets in China and Vietnam, where their scales are used in traditional medicine — despite having no medical benefits — and their meat is bought on the black market.
The country has long been accused by conservationists of tolerating a shadowy trade in endangered animals for food or as ingredients in traditional medicines.
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