UN agencies: Remove wild animals from food markets to prevent emergence of new, deadly virus

Geneva/New York, April 13 – Traditional food markets known as wet markets should stop selling wild animals, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other UN agencies proposed as an interim measure to prevent the emergence of a new, deadly virus.

The organizations called for “suspending” sales of wild mammals in a newly published document, interim guidance, in order reducing public health risks associated with these transactions as most emerging infectious diseases have wildlife origins.

The WHO, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the UN Environment Program (UNEP) published the interim document in the wake of failure by a team of 17 international scientists and experts and 17 Chinese experts to investigate the origins of the Covid-19 virus. The investigation was conducted in January 2021 in Wuhan, China.

“Traditional food markets that are regulated by national or local competent authorities and that operate to high standards of hygiene and sanitation are safe for workers and customers,” the document said. “Significant problems can arise when these markets allow the sale and slaughter of live animals, especially wild animals, which cannot be properly assessed for potential risks in areas open to the public.”

“When wild animals are kept in cages or pens, slaughtered and dressed in open market areas, these areas become contaminated with body fluids, feces and other waste, increasing the risk of transmission of pathogens to workers and customers and potentially resulting in spillover of pathogens to other animals in the market.”

The document said animals, particularly wild animals, are responsible for more than 70 per cent of all emerging infectious diseases in humans, many of which are caused by novel viruses. It said wild mammals pose particular risk as there is no way to check if they carry dangerous viruses.

The document said some of the earliest known cases of Covid-19 were linked to the wet market in Wuhan.

“It is likely that the virus that causes Covid-19 originated in wild animals, as it belongs to a group of coronaviruses normally found in bats,” the document said.

“One hypothesis is that the virus was initially transmitted to humans through an intermediary animal host that is, as yet, unknown. Another possibility is that the virus was transmitted directly from a host species of animal to humans.”

The document also called for governments to close markets, or sections of markets, and to re-open them “only on condition that they meet required food safety, hygiene and environmental standards and comply with regulations.”

“During this pandemic, additional measures for crowd control and physical distancing, hand washing and sanitizing stations as well as education on respiratory hygiene including on use of face masks should be introduced in market settings to limit the possibility of person-to-person transmission of disease,” it said.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that a report written by the investigative team in Wuhan represented a “very important beginning, but it is not the end.” We have not yet found the source of the virus, and we must continue to follow the science and leave no stone unturned as we do.”

The WHO chief emphasized that the report raised “further questions that will need to be addressed by further studies, as the team itself notes in the report.” He added that the investigation would need access from Chinese authorities “to data including biological samples from at least September” 2019.

“In my discussions with the team, they expressed the difficulties they encountered in accessing raw data. I expect future collaborative studies to include more timely and comprehensive data sharing,” he said.

“Again, I welcome the recommendations for further research, including a full analysis of the trade in animals and products in markets across Wuhan, particularly those linked to early human cases,” Tedros said.

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