Chickens cause coronavirus.
Fear-mongering and fake news around Coronavirus is spreading fast. Much is still unknown about the virus, so a lot of false claims about it are quickly emerging to fill in the gaps - the problem is, these do more harm than good., Its origin has been hotly debated in the scientific community. Earlier studies had indicated the source could be snakes, but that theory is now being questioned., FIT has previously debunked claims that cold drinks and ice-cream or spicy food can make you susceptible to coronavirus., The latest viral message on social media is that broiler chicken is the source of the deadly virus., "Coronaviruses are a family of viruses known for containing strains that cause potentially deadly diseases in mammals and birds, and humans to a lesser extent. In humans theyre typically spread via airborne droplets of fluid produced by infected individuals.", The latest Novel Coronavirus (nCov) is a new strain to be encountered in humans. Other versions or strains of the virus were the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and even the common cold., Now, the misunderstanding over the original probably stems from the confusion within the family of coronavirus -, Animal and human transmission has resulted in spreading many infectious diseases in the past., In the first study, the researchers carried out a genome sequence of the virus associated with the respiratory disease outbreak in China, isolated from a patient working in the seafood market linked to the initial cases., The study found that the virus was closely related to a group of SARS-like coronaviruses previously identified in bats in China. However, this research was conducted from the fluid sample by one patient and more analysis is required before a link is established, reported PTI., The study in the journal Nature did find that the new coronavirus is a distant cousin of SARS, sharing almost 80% of its genetic sequence, reported Bloomberg., The rapid spread of the disease could be due to the open-air, crowded ‘wet’ Chinese markets in Wuhan that sell live meat, fish and animals., Authorities in Wuhan, China banned the trade of live animals at wet markets, reported Business Insider., The specific market where the outbreak began, the Huanan Seafood Market, was shut on 1 January., But does this mean you need to fear all animals, even your beloved pets? WHO says that there is no current evidence that house animals like dogs or cats could be infected with the new coronavirus. They still advise to practice basic hygiene and wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after contact with pets., So far, the source for the current nCov remains unknown, with officials stating that they are working on finding the exact source but nothing is confirmed as of yet., CDDEP director, Ramanan Laxminarayan adds,, There has been no official confirmation of a link between chicken and nCov - and no source for nCov has been found as yet. However, WHO has said that they are looking into animal sources to find the origin but there is no clarity on what the animal is., What we do know for sure is that a definite way for this to spread is by close human contact with an infected person., In a previous FIT article, Dr Sumit Ray is a senior consultant, Critical Care Medicine advised,, The latest findings, as reported by PTI, suggest that the most likely route of transmission is through the airways of individuals, although the researchers note that other possible routes may be possible, and more patient data is needed to investigate the transmission routes further., In short, the claim of nCov being originated and spread through broiler chicken is false., (With inputs from PTI), "(Make sure you dont miss fresh news updates from us. Click here to stay updated)", Stay tuned with our weekly recap of what’s hot & cool by The Quint.
China’s Coronavirus Fact Check: No, Broiler Chicken is Not the Source of nCov Say Experts