Why do deadly viruses come out of China?

This is not a new phenomenon for China; in 2003, the SARS virus also emerged there, and in similar circumstances, before spreading worldwide and killing about 800 people. This virus has so far spread to 83 countries.

Both SARS and COVID-19 are in the family “convirus”, and both appear to have emerged from animals in China's notorious wildlife markets. Experts had long predicted that these markets, known as potential sources of disease, would allow for another explosion.

The markets and trade of wild animals that support them are the fundamental problem of these pandemics; until China solves that problem, they are likely to emerge again.

The current virus has spread far beyond Ebola in 2014, and the World Health Organization has assigned it an pandemic.

In 2003, a virus very similar to SARS-CoV-2 emerged from a market in Foshan, China. It caused SARS, which spread to dozens of countries.

The similarities between two viruses ask the question: Why do new diseases continue to emerge from China?

This episode of Vox Atlas examines the deepest issue of China's wildlife trade and how it is endangering global health, writes panorama.

As expert Peter Lee shows in video, “Most people in China don't eat wild animals. Those people that consume these animals are rich and powerful a small minority” This video explains how China's people are themselves victims of conditions that led to the Coronavirus.