WHO urges ban on market sale of live wild animals

The World Health Organization on Tuesday called for a halt in the sale of live wild mammals in food markets to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

The WHO had earlier concluded, in a joint study with China, that the coronavirus was likely transmitted from bats to humans via a third animal.

“Animals, particularly wild animals, are the source of more than 70% of all emerging infectious diseases in humans, many of which are caused by novel viruses,” said the WHO, the World Organization for Animal Health and the United Nations Environment Programme in a statement.

“Wild mammals, in particular, pose a risk for the emergence of new diseases,” the statement added. 

While the WHO recognized how traditional markets provide food and livelihoods for large populations, it recommended that “banning the sale of the animals can protect people’s health — both those working there and those shopping.”

The latest on variants

The coronavirus variant first identified in Britain, known as B117, does not cause more severe cases in hospitalized patients, according to a study published in the medical journal Lancet Infectious Diseases.

The study found no evidence that people infected with the B117 had worse symptoms. But it concluded that the variant was indeed associated with a higher viral load and reproduction rate than other variants.