Pangolin trade: Difference between revisions

During the [[COVID-19 pandemic|2019-20 coronavirus pandemic]], [[nucleic acid sequence]]s of [[virus]]es taken from pangolins had initially been found to be a 99% match with [[SARS-CoV-2]], the virus which causes [[COVID-19]].<ref name="Cyranoski-2020">{{Cite journal|last=Cyranoski|first=David|date=2020-02-07|title=Did pangolins spread the China coronavirus to people?|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00364-2|journal=Nature|language=en|doi=10.1038/d41586-020-00364-2|pmid=33547428|s2cid=212825975|access-date=2020-03-22|archive-date=2020-02-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200207163538/https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00364-2|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Liu|first1=P.|last2=Chen|first2=W.|last3=Chen|first3=J.-P.|year=2019|title=Viral Metagenomics Revealed Sendai Virus and Coronavirus Infection of Malayan Pangolins (Manis javanica)|journal=Viruses|volume=11|issue=11|page=979|doi=10.3390/v11110979|pmid=31652964|pmc=6893680|doi-access=free}}</ref> The virus was believed to have originated in [[bat]]s, and that pangolins were an intermediate host prior to infecting humans. The illicit Chinese trade of pangolins was suggested as a [[Vector (epidemiology)|vector]] for human transmission.<ref name="Cyranoski-2020" /><ref name="Live">{{cite web|url=https://www.livescience.com/first-case-coronavirus-found.html|title=1st known case of coronavirus traced back to November in China|last1=Bryner|first1=Jeanna|date=March 15, 2020|publisher=[[LiveScience]]|access-date=March 15, 2020|archive-date=March 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200314150202/https://www.livescience.com/first-case-coronavirus-found.html|url-status=live}}</ref> However, pangolins were eventually ruled out as the definitive source of (SARS-CoV-2), after it emerged that the 99% match did not actually refer to the entire [[genome]], but to a specific site known as the receptor-binding domain (RBD).<ref name="Nature-coronavirus-mystery">{{cite journal|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00548-w|title=Mystery deepens over animal source of coronavirus|date=26 February 2020|journal=Nature|doi=10.1038/d41586-020-00548-w|access-date=28 February 2020|last1=Cyranoski|first1=David|volume=579|issue=7797|pages=18–19|pmid=32127703|bibcode=2020Natur.579...18C|s2cid=211836524|archive-date=1 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401110822/https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00548-w|url-status=live|doi-access=free}}</ref> A whole-genome comparison found that the pangolin and human viruses share only up to 92% of their [[nucleic acid]] sequence, while at least 99.8% is needed for a conclusive match.<ref name="Nature-coronavirus-mystery" /> Ecologists worried that the early speculation about pangolins being the source may have led to mass slaughters, endangering the animals further.<ref name="Nature-coronavirus-mystery" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/civet-cat-slaughter-to-fight-sars|title=Civet Cat Slaughter To Fight SARS|date=11 January 2004|publisher=CBSNews|access-date=28 February 2020|archive-date=28 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228180339/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/civet-cat-slaughter-to-fight-sars/|url-status=live}}</ref>