China markets breeding ground for deadly viruses
Pastor Dale Morgan
China markets breeding ground for deadly viruses*
By Joseph Chaney
Reuters
Monday, December 10, 2007; 10:13 PM
GUANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - Scorpions scamper in bowls, water snakes
coil in tanks and cats whine in cramped cages, waiting to be
slaughtered, skinned and served for dinner.
Welcome to the Qingping market in the southern Chinese city of
Guangzhou, where everything from turtles to insects are sold alongside
fowl and freshly caught fish.
An outbreak of the SARS virus in 2002 resulted in a local gourmet
favorite -- the civet -- being banished to the black market. The
raccoon-like animal was blamed for spreading SARS, which infected 8,000
people globally and killed 800.
But exotic wildlife and squalor have returned to the Qingping market,
making health officials worried that another killer virus could emerge.
"We face similar threats from other viruses and such epidemics can
happen because we continue to have very crowded markets in China," said
Lo Wing-lok, an infectious disease expert in Hong Kong.
"Even though official measures are in place, they are not faithfully
followed. We are not talking about just civet cats, but all animals," he
added.
Ever since Severe Respiratory Disease Syndrome (SARS) virus emerged in
China, authorities have fought to rectify the country's image and clean
up it's market.
Civets, which are a delicacy in southern China, are now banned for sale
and consumption, and a nine-storey traditional medicine plaza has
replaced Qingping's wild animal market.
"The market is much different now," said He Zhiquan, an official from
Guangdong's foreign affairs office.
"Civet cats are forbidden, and sanitation is an important issue. Most
live animals are sold on the city's outskirts. You can see it's more of
a normal market now."
Propaganda posters such as "Everyone should honor the policy of paying
attention to product safety," hang everywhere at Qingping.
Still, sights abound that would send even the most ardent carnivores
running.
In a dark shop near the new medicine mall, feces and urine drip like goo
through stacked cages of squawking chickens and meowing cats.
"The Qingping market is dirty," said a Guangzhou-born taxi driver,
surnamed Mo. "It's dirty because it's old, and the government is
unwilling to put up enough money to fix it."
WET FLOORS, HIDDEN BEASTS
In wealthy Guangzhou, rising incomes and fear of diseases are sending
well-heeled consumers to supermarkets in search of packaged and branded
goods.
Yet outside of China's glitzy marquee cities of Shanghai, Beijing, and
Guangzhou, traditional wet markets still account for the bulk of fresh
food sales in China.
"The concept of buying food once a week and putting it in your fridge
doesn't really exist in China yet. It's produced today, bought today,
and eaten later today," said John Chapple, general manager for
China-based food analysis laboratory Sino Analytica.
And dangerous tastes persist under the radar.
Although Guangdong authorities culled thousands of civets in January
2004, investigators recently found the animals, as well as badgers and
pangolins, on the black market and in Guangdong's "wild flavor"
restaurants, where diners hope exotic meats will bring good fortune.
Health inspectors found 14 frozen and one live civet cat, and 22
kilograms of civet cat meat from 18 animals in a sweep of restaurants
across the province, the People's Daily newspaper reported earlier this
year.
"You can't say something else won't come up," said Li Jib-heng, general
specialist at the Department of Health in Taiwan.
The odds of another human catching SARS from a sick civet cat were next
to none, Li said, but added a new disease could emerge from close
contact with sick wild animals.
Keeping clear of wild animals could prove difficult for some locals, who
are known for their eclectic palettes.
Among Qingping's cats and chickens were tiger paws, turtles, insects of
myriad varieties, and bundled strips of shredded toads -- some food,
others medicine.
"You can eat anything with four legs except the dinner table," says one
local expression.
(Additional reporting by Ralph Jennings and Ee Lyn Tan)
(Editing by Megan Goldin)