A Pangolin Pandemic
With the ensuing COVID-19 chaos, and with the virus permeating every form of news and media outlet, it’s become impossible to ignore. With the advent of any new disease or virus, an in-depth investigation needs to be carried out in order to effectively treat it, not only on a symptomatic level but a vaccination need to be developed too – which entails a certain level of understanding about the origins of the virus too. As has been largely publicised, COVID-19 is what is known as a coronavirus which by definition is a zoonotic virus. This in turn means that the virus’ origins lie in pathogens found on animals that are then passed onto humans in various ways.
Pangolins are some of the world’s most endangered species, and by recent statistics are the most trafficked animal in the world currently. So how do pangolins feature in our current pandemic? Well, since the current coronavirus – COVID-19 has zoonotic origins which have been traced to a wet market in Wuhan, China the epicentre of the pandemic. The virus’ origins have inadvertently highlighted a very important trade in China – namely the exotic animal market. This has been contentious for many years as the legality behind the species being sold in such markets including the endangered species and whether or not they have been ethically sourced or imported has been called into question consistently. Pangolins are sold off in such markets to be consumed, which is where the issue lies. Recent research shows that there is evidence to support that a “small proportion of pangolins” carry coronaviruses that are not dissimilar to the one that we are currently facing.
This is a particularly interesting find as it has now been determined that pangolins are the “mammals other than bats known to be infected by the closest relatives of the novel coronavirus.” However, according to the World Health Organisation, with regard to COVID-19, the most likely source as it currently stands are bats, the same surmised source as SARS-CoV-2, but “it is likely that it’s jumped to another species before spilling over onto humans” (National Geographic). Pangolins are widely used in countries such as China and Vietnam, their scales in particular are used as part of traditional medicine practices and the meat is consumed as a delicacy. Coronaviruses are distributed through bodily fluids and therefore the consumption of pangolin meat raises far more red flags than the use of the scales. However both are hugely problematic given the pangolins’ endangered species status.
In China, it is now illegal to eat pangolins, but unfortunately this has not inhibited the demand for it, and pangolins are still available for live purchase. The most recent studies have uncovered that there are striking genetic similarities in the strains of the coronaviruses discovered in the confiscated pangolins (destined for illegal market trading) when cross-compared to the novel coronavirus COVID-19. The research is still in its early stages and therefore cannot conclusively state that “that pangolins are the intermediate host that passed SARS-CoV-2 from bats to humans”, however that does not mean that pangolins won’t be future reservoirs for coronaviruses.