The bird flu spreading through cattle in the United States is an “enormous concern” the chief scientist of the World Health Organization said Thursday as he called for more tracking and preparation for the virus.
I don’t think that China is the only vector for a potential pandemic (MERS didn’t start in China after all), but China does have the crowded wet markets full of exotic animals trapped from all over the country in small cages, which is the good way to get a virus to make the jump to us. That may or may not have been what happened with COVID, but it is a huge risk even if it has yet to happen.
Turns out Covid was just round 1 of international pandemics from China.
Edit: yes, technically it was round 4 (SARS, bird flu, swine flu, Covid, now Bird Flu: this time its personal)
What does this one have to do with China?
I don’t think that China is the only vector for a potential pandemic (MERS didn’t start in China after all), but China does have the crowded wet markets full of exotic animals trapped from all over the country in small cages, which is the good way to get a virus to make the jump to us. That may or may not have been what happened with COVID, but it is a huge risk even if it has yet to happen.
if you think wet markets are a good source of zoonotic viruses I have great news about factory-farms
Bird flu originated in China and its ability to jump species, as well as its lethality, was well documented there too.