{"id":29049,"date":"2020-01-29T04:10:05","date_gmt":"2020-01-29T04:10:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.englishforums.com\/news\/?p=29049"},"modified":"2020-01-29T04:10:05","modified_gmt":"2020-01-29T04:10:05","slug":"wuhan-coronavirus-chinese-eating-habits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/news\/wuhan-coronavirus-chinese-eating-habits\/","title":{"rendered":"Wuhan coronavirus outbreak blamed on Chinese eating habits"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thousands of Twitter users blamed supposedly “dirty” Chinese eating habits for the outbreak of the coronavirus.<\/strong>
\nA video of a young Chinese woman biting into a virtually whole bat has sprung criticism by many on social media relating to the outbreak of Wuhan’s coronavirus.
\nThe Wuhan coronavirus<\/a> believed to have originated late last year in a seafood market in Wuhan, China, that was supposedly selling wildlife. It\u00a0has since spread to cities, including Beijing and Shanghai. Hong Kong has six confirmed cases.
\nThe purported video brought back old racist ideas: that the “dirty” Chinese are carriers of the disease. Many Americans long believed that, as the New York Daily Tribune wrote in 1854, Chinese people were “uncivilized, unclean, filthy beyond all conception.”<\/strong>
\n\"Wuhan
\nExperts have noted that spreading such information can fuel fear and racism. They explained that as the Wuhan coronavirus spreads, the Chinese as a group are more likely to be blamed for its incubation and spread.
\nIn countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia, where there are already clashes around ethnic Chinese, those sentiments could turn nasty.
\nIn the US, especially under the Trump administration, it could fuel both government and public prejudices.
\nChina has called for transparency in managing the crisis after a cover-up of the spread of the deadly SARS virus eroded public trust. Still, officials in Wuhan have been criticized for their handling of the current outbreak.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bats may not be responsible for Wuhan coronavirus<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A new study has declared that bats may not be responsible for the outbreak of Wuhan Coronavirus, which currently has claimed more than a hundred lives (107 as of the last count). 4,500 were reportedly infected.<\/strong>
\nAccording to the study, the early known victims of the virus had no contact with the market.
\nThe published study noted, currently, it has still not been determined that the Wuhan coronavirus originated in bats. It is also still unclear how it made its way to humans.<\/strong>
\nIt explained it was quite likely not through the eating of any creatures of the night (bats).
\nBart Haagmans, a virologist at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands, said characterizing the virus as a product of an entire country’s eating habits feels both inaccurate and wildly offensive.<\/strong>
\nAlso, in a widely circulated tweet on Thursday, a doctor said anyone promoting viral videos of Chinese people eating bats is “both racist and a dangerous opportunist.”
\nOthers also frowned at the linking of Wuhan coronavirus to bats.
\nDavid Tsu said:<\/p>\n

Suggestions that the Chinese practice of eating bats is directly responsible for introducing the virus to humans have not been confirmed. In previous cases, bats infected other animals via their feces or saliva, and the unwitting intermediaries transmitted the virus to humans.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While another supporter<\/a> noted that bats are a rich source of protein, suggesting people switch from eating cows which is not nature-friendly to bats.<\/p>\n

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— \u9648\u79cb\u5b9e Chen Qiushi (@chenqiushi404) January 22, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n