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We’ve all heard how bats that were sold at a wet market in Wuhan, China, may have either sparked the COVID-19 outbreak – or, at the very least, spread it -- nearly a year ago.
Although it wasn’t immediately determined which animal or animals the cargo came from, bush meat has been made from those that can transfer diseases to humans, including bats.
The passenger, a United States citizen, declared the meat and wasn’t in any trouble, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said Tuesday.
However, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) advised agents to seize and destroy the meat before it could “potentially cause grave damage to our agricultural and economic vitality,” said Troy Miller, the director of field operations for the agency’s New York office.
“Animal disease outbreaks are a threat to the United States that can adversely affect public health, cause global trade halts, and destabilize the economy and our nation’s food supply,” CBP said in a release.
Eating bats and rats and certain other non-human primates and rodents can easily spread certain diseases, including COVID-19, to other animals and humans, experts say.
Bats, in particular, have identified as major carriers of a virus that is considered the “closest relative” to COVID-19.
The CDC has directly connected bushmeat to certain other diseases, including Ebola.
The more that humans come into contact with certain wildlife species, experts say, the more likely it is that pathogenic viruses will spread.
They’ve called for worldwide restrictions on the killing, commercial breeding, transportation and sale of these animals.
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