Coronavirus: Responsible Action with China | Science | Detailed Report on Science and Technology | DW

We help those in need. It is considered normal. When the crisis of COVID-19 began in January, the EU quickly sent 50 tons of protective clothing and medical equipment to Hubei, the Chinese province where the virus first appeared.

At present, Europe has become one of the major battlefields in the fight against COVID-19-to deploy military rhetoric in support of politicians around the world. And Europe is not doing so well. China sends goods to Italy, Spain, Greece, and other European countries that are not members of the EU.

Assistance from China is greatly appreciated where the healthcare system is desperately spreading. Many countries cross borders alone. Solidarity is rigorously tested. Thousands have died and millions are facing loss of livelihoods. Personal freedom is being reduced in ways we could never imagine. Even after the pandemic has been overcome, it will take years for the world to recover.

US-China propaganda war

Xi Jinping Jintao of China, solidarity and cooperation is said to be the most powerful weapon against public health crisis. Aid as a weapon. In the era of trade wars and nationalism, aid as a gesture of solidarity became a tool of the propaganda war.

German newspaper Handelsblatt “Beijing is presenting itself as a knight in shining armor. Coronavirus pandemic The balance of power is shifting. China is trying to overtake the United States as a responsible and generous world power. “

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The article claims that a new era of global politics has begun, and that the country in which the pandemic began has claimed its role as leader. “China’s willingness to help is full of distrust in Europe. Over the years, Beijing has been trying to expand its influence. Opportunities are now there. Relief supplies not only save lives, It also aims to form the basis for the partnership. Please help rewrite the pandemic story, “wrote Handlesblatt.

Epidemiology and coordinated crisis management

Beijing responded with anger to President Donald Trump’s controversial allegation that China failed to deal with the virus that he had made in his home country. A close-up photo of a statement prepared by President Trump at the White House news briefing shows that he struck through the phrase “Coronavirus” and replaced it with “Chinese virus.” Trump began to weaken his racist debate after his rhetoric fueled an increase in attacks on Asian Americans.

The current crisis is bringing the United States and Europe more reliance on China and its superpowers, not just from an economic perspective. Beijing responded greatly to the criticism. “ People who label Chinese-made products as ‘contaminated with viruses’ should not wear Chinese-made masks, protective clothing, and ventilation equipment, ” said Geng Shuang, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry. He said.

“The U.S. military will have caused the epidemic in Wuhan,” another Zhongli spokesperson for China, tweeted.

Persistent risk of zoonotic diseases

The truth is the first casualty in war, as this propaganda battle shows. In the United States, there are more than 143,000 recorded cases and 2500 deaths. It is rarely necessary that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus was not produced in a US laboratory.

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It passed from animal hosts to humans. COVID-19 is a zoonotic disease. And, like most zoonotic diseases, it probably originated from another mammalian species. This was the case for HIV / AIDS, Ebola, SARS, and perhaps COVID-19.

In a statement from the Washington Post, evolutionary biologist Jared Diamond and virologist Nathan Wolfe discuss the role of wildlife markets in China and elsewhere in promoting disease transmission from animal hosts to humans. Are discussing. This is the case for SARS and may apply to COVID-19. In China, wild animals sold alive are: Chinese herbal medicine (TCM).

Tracking zoonotic infections

SARS may have reached humans through the kitten, which obtained the virus from bats. by Scientific journal Nature dissertationPangolin is a plausible host for SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID-19. As Diamond and Wolf point out, pangolin scales are an important ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine.

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In a densely populated city of a globalized world, zoonotic diseases can spread rapidly and become a pandemic. The wildlife market in Wuhan has been closed once the outbreak of coronavirus has been confirmed.

But even the omnipotent Chinese Communist Party has not dared to permanently ban the trade in wildlife, the center of traditional Chinese medicine practice.

People and animals approach at Wuhan market

Importance of traditional Chinese medicine

As reported by the National Geographic Magazine, the Chinese National Health Commission recently recommended using “injections, including injections.” Bear bileTo treat severe and serious COVID-19 cases. “

Traditional Chinese medicine has been used to treat bronchitis and upper respiratory tract infections since the 8th century.

Xinhua, a Chinese national news agency, recently published an article titled “Traditional Chinese Medicine Offers Oriental Wisdom in Fighting New Viruses.” “The TCM has never missed a single fight against infectious diseases throughout China’s history. The classics of TCM provide sufficient evidence of its healing power in fighting infectious diseases such as smallpox over the past millennia. The 2003 battle against SARS is a recent example: TCM has provided a timely and effective solution for treating and recovering SARS patients. “

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The article also states that Wuhan saw “the integrated treatment of TCM and Western medicine, especially among less severe patients.” According to Zhang Boli, a scholar at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, “Western medicine provides important life support measures such as assisting breathing and circulation, and TCM focuses on improving patients’ physical condition and immune function. They complement each other,” he said.

Issues of responsibility, not responsibility

Coronavirus pandemics are unlikely to end wildlife trade as a source of traditional Chinese medicine substances. After all, the outbreak of SARS did not end this practice. TCM plays an important role in China and other countries. Its supporters say that TCM is an overall form of medicine that can treat complaints that are not properly addressed in Western medicine, which focuses on symptoms, not causes.

For this reason, Jared Diamond and Nathan Wolfe argue that COVID-19 is unlikely to be the last in a virus pandemic. “As long as wildlife is widely used for food and other purposes in China and other countries, there will be more.”

However, no matter how difficult it may be to implement, globally banning wildlife trade can reduce the risk of zoonotic diseases.