Chinese-based researchers say they think the pangolin — a scaly, harmless mammal that eats ants — may have spread the virus to humans.
China’s Xinhua News Agency reported last week that researchers had found the closest genetic match yet to the novel coronavirus infecting humans in a virus detected in pangolins. However, scientists have cautioned against jumping to conclusions before the research is published and reviewed.
If pangolins did serve as an intermediary host, the illicit trade in these shy, solitary animals could have played a part in the crisis. Pangolins are trafficked for their meat and their scales, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine. In the wild, the scales protect the pangolins, whose only defense against predators is to curl up into a ball.
Though identifying how the new virus was transmitted to humans will not necessarily aid containment of the ongoing epidemic, it could prove helpful in tackling future flare-ups of coronavirus-linked diseases.
Pangolin is the most-trafficked animal in the world
In the rainforests of the Congo, Cameroon and Central African Republic (CAR) lives an elusive mammal that looks like a cross between an anteater, an armadillo and a pinecone. And thanks to poachers, the pangolin is the most trafficked animal on earth.
In April 2019, Singapore seized a world record 25.6 tons of pangolin scales, worth $76.5 million, from an estimated 38,000 of the creatures. In December, scales from some 50,000 African pangolins were seized by Chinese authorities.
In all, it is estimated that more than 100,000 pangolins, mostly from Africa, were killed by traffickers last year — compared to 200 rhinos and 1,000 tigers.
“It’s because of this scale, this unique feature [that makes)] them a target,” said Tessa Ullman, a volunteer at the Sangha Pangolin Project, a preservation society. “The Pangolin burrow and create holes, so [the scales are] associated with circulation. It’s used as an ingredient in traditional Asian medicines … They’re used to help mothers for lactation, and for blood pressure. But none of this has been clinically proven.”