Experts back 'Wuhan virus' tag, slam wild meat trade

Professor Yuen Kwok-yung warns that there will be more outbreaks like this if wild meat consumption does not stop on the mainland. File photo: RTHK

Two top Hong Kong University microbiologists on Wednesday said it is easier for people to remember the coronavirus as the "Wuhan virus" and slammed the culture of wild meat consumption on the mainland, saying mainlanders have forgotten the bitter lessons of the 2003 Sars outbreak.



In an article in the Chinese-language newspaper Ming Pao co-written by Yuen Kwok-yung and his colleague David Lung, the microbiologists said that the current coronavirus pandemic originated from the mainland city of Wuhan.



They called on people to stop forwarding rumours that the virus originated in the US, saying this is baseless and a joke.



On a controversy over names for the virus, the experts wrote they think it is “simple and direct” to call it "Wuhan coronavirus" or "Wuhan pneumonia".



They said the disease was named Covid-19 because the World Health Organisation stopped using names of people or places from 2015.



“While scientists should use Covid-19 during academic exchanges, it is easy for communication for ordinary people and the media to call it Wuhan virus or Wuhan pneumonia,” they wrote.



They also warned there would be "Sars 3.0" if people on the mainland do not stop eating wild animals.



“It’s a serious mistake that tough measures were not taken and game meat markets were not closed after the Sars outbreak. One must face the truth and avoid the same mistake again to fight the pandemic. Don’t blame it on others,” they wrote.



They reminded people that the Sars outbreak was linked to viruses that came from civet cats.



“It’s been seventeen years. Markets selling game meat are not banned. The problem has become more serious. Mainland people have completely forgotten the lesson from the Sars outbreak. It is eyebrow-raising that there are game meat markets in the middle of developed cities, and people openly sell, cook and eat them,” the article said.



It said mainland people's disrespect for animals was the source of this virus outbreak.