My Visit to China: Could This Be A Reason Why Coronavirus Started There?
I've visited China and the wet markets where the coronavirus is believed to have started. With the conditions I saw it's not surprising that this is where the outbreak may have begun.
With all the talk about the coronavirus, I wanted to share my experiences visiting China. A few years ago I traveled to Beijing and Shanghai as a tourist. While the country is amazing and has some unbelievable attractions, it is also obvious that they are still a developing nation.
Common Local Food Options
The first difference that I noticed was the choice of food options. Although they have McDonald’s and KFC they also have some local dishes that many in America would not put on the menu. I saw whole fish with the fins and scales served on a plate, mammals I won’t mention, and snakes. The latter is at the center of coronavirus issue as it’s suggested that a bat was eaten by a snake who then was eaten by a person.
Open-Air Wet Markets
While eating odd foods isn’t a bad thing, Andrew Zimmern has made a career of it, how the food is prepped in China is an issue. While in Shanghai I visited what they call a “wet market.” Several websites are claiming the coronavirus, and previously SARS started in wet markets. Think of a farmer’s market but the butchering of the animals happens behind the counter and the raw meat is hung in the open air. Not only are they butchering pigs, ducks and chickens there are also stands with live frogs, eels, snakes and turtles. It’s not very sanitary and there are no regulations on how they discard the entrails. One moment a man could be butchering a snake, the next he could be handling a raw piece of pork before selling it to the consumer. The market was open-air even during the summer months. Raw meat sat out in 85-degree temperatures. The worst part was the unsanitary conditions. The animal waste, including feces, wasn’t discarded away from the food. I’m honestly surprised more people don’t get sick.
Human Waste Disposal
Another issue in China is how they deal with human waste. Many of the big cities are westernized when it comes to plumbing but even in cities like Beijing and Shanghai, it is not rare to come across squat toilets. The squat toilet is just what it sounds like. In nice areas, they can be made of porcelain, like the attached picture, but in many spots, they are made of metal or wood. They are essentially a hole in the floor that you squat over to do your business. Again, the sanitation of these toilets is not great, especially if the previous user was careless with their aim. Another issue with Chinese restrooms is that in most you are not allowed to flush the toilet paper. In many areas, the plumbing isn’t capable of handling the waste paper. So what do people do with the waste paper? They place it in a garbage can or open bin. And again, the sanitation varies on whether or not the previous user cared to hit the bin with their waste paper. Even in restaurants and bars in the cities, I saw overflowing bins of used waste paper. That was in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai. The situation was worse in more rural areas.
Disease Transmission
All of these poor practices can contribute to the spread of illness. The overall attitude though is not one of cleanliness and sanitation. Washing your hands after butchering an animal or going to the restroom is not seen as necessary in many parts of the country. For China to stem the tide of illness, and prevent future issues, they really need to change public attitudes around hygiene. The coronavirus can be spread via infected secretions, fecal matter or by a cough or sneeze. China’s hygiene standards increase the odds of all those possibilities.
Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.
Quote
While in Shanghai I visited what they call a “wet market.” Several websites are claiming the coronavirus, and previously SARS started in wet markets. Think of a farmer’s market but the butchering of the animals happens behind the counter and the raw meat is hung in the open air. Not only are they butchering pigs, ducks and chickens there are also stands with live frogs, eels, snakes and turtles. It’s not very sanitary and there are no regulations on how they discard the entrails
I was in Noumea a few years ago and walked into a market very much like this one. Would I have bought food from there had I not been on a cruise ship and unable to take any of that sort of food back on board, probably. Dont see Noumea being the hotbed of contagious illness
Quote
The squat toilet is just what it sounds like. In nice areas, they can be made of porcelain, like the attached picture, but in many spots, they are made of metal or wood. They are essentially a hole in the floor that you squat over to do your business.
Again, the squat toilet is common in places in the middle east and asia includes Iran, Iraq, Japan and Thailand, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, China, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Myanmar, Iran and Taiwan.
Again, no mad viruses coming out of all those places.
OP I get what you are trying to say in that infection control is critical in terms of how an illness spreads, however this article comes across xenophopbic
Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.
On 2/13/2020 at 2:37 PM, Daisy4RN said:
Wow, are we medical professionals here. How are stating facts that wet markets have poor hygiene racist and xenophobic.
Geez, cant a guy just write an article about his personal experience and ask a question about hygiene. We healthcare professionals (as well as the general public) should care about this.
Last year I got to experience first hand the consequences first hand of untold xenophobia and racism. The person who shot and killed 51 muslims and critically injured over 50 more was arrested outside of my home. Ended up being evacuated because it was believed that the shooter had explosives in his car. Couldnt go home until late that night, and spent the next day or so being escorted in and out of my home with cops with really big guns.
My sister who is an emergency consultant got to see and deal with the injured first hand. She told me about one wee girl who was dropped on a gurney face down (who despite being so close to dead is now doing amazingly well a year on). The consequences of racism and xenophobia not only had a profound effect on the muslim community but the rest of us living in Christchurch.
Why is this relevant to the OP. You are correct as nurses we should always be mindful of the need for good infection control. In the day and age and rise of right wing white supremacy, we should also be equally concerned about the impact of racism and xenophobia.
The interesting point. The Christchurch shooter who killed 51 people and wounded many more was on no ones radar. He was on no watch list, most likely because our countries and many countries around the world are so focused on the threat of islamic radicalism that we miss the equally dangerous threat of white supremacy
Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.
On 2/14/2020 at 6:33 PM, MunoRN said:
There was no claim or even subtle suggestion that the virus occurred because the people in these markets are Chinese, that would be what racism is. Claiming that circumstances which promote bacteria also promote viruses is incorrect, but not racist. I get that you don't think it's appropriate for the OP or anyone else falsely accuse someone of something, so ...
The entire article was written from a eurocentric POV.
Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.
14 hours ago, TriciaJ said:
I get that the article triggered a lot of people, hence the multiple posts with palpable rage and personal attacks. I'm only going to say this, because I predict the mods will be shutting down this thread:
The abhorrent thing about racism (and all forms of bigotry) is that it allows us to make assumptions and ascribe evil motives to someone we don't even know. It allows us to feel superior on an artificial basis.
And I'm done. Carry on.
Not remotely triggered here
After March 15 2019 I will no longer be someone who remains silent in the face of eurocentric xenophobic approaches that actual racists (not calling the OP racist) are using to disciminate against chinese and other non european peoples
I got to experience first hand the consequences first hand of untold xenophobia and racism. The person who shot and killed 51 muslims and critically injured over 50...
Why is this relevant to the OP. ... we should also be equally concerned about the impact of racism and xenophobia.
The interesting point. The Christchurch shooter who killed 51 people and wounded many more was on no ones radar. He was on no watch list
This is the single most outrageous jump in reasoning in the whole thread. Whether you intended to or not, you are now comparing the OP supposed offensiveness to the hatred of a mass murderer and you've implied that maybe anyone who is offensive could be a mass murderer in the making and we should all watch out for them because they might not be on the watch list.
This is basically a corollary to Godwin's Law. This thread has gone off the deep end. Peace out.
This is the single most outrageous jump in reasoning in the whole thread. Whether you intended to or not, you are now comparing the OP supposed offensiveness to the hatred of a mass murderer and you've implied that maybe anyone who is offensive could be a mass murderer in the making and we should all watch out for them because they might not be on the watch list.
This thread has gone off the deep end. Peace out.
Don't tell me you have never seen a racist nurse in your life!!!!
I know. The viciousness that people will unleash to punish someone else's perceived insensitivity reaches levels of hypocrisy that simply astound...
What's vicious is both of you cannot find anything wrong in the article, and proceeds in accusing people who are expressing general concerns as to why this piece of crap of an article is xenophobic.
If you think this article has zero problems, then you are the problem.
Not only are they butchering pigs, ducks and chickens there are also stands with live frogs, eels, snakes and turtles. It’s not very sanitary and there are no regulations on how they discard the entrails. One moment a man could be butchering a snake, the next he could be handling a raw piece of pork before selling it to the consumer. The market was open-air even during the summer months. Raw meat sat out in 85-degree temperatures. The worst part was the unsanitary conditions. The animal waste, including feces, wasn’t discarded away from the food. I’m honestly surprised more people don’t get sick.
The squat toilet is just what it sounds like. In nice areas, they can be made of porcelain, like the attached picture, but in many spots, they are made of metal or wood. They are essentially a hole in the floor that you squat over to do your business. Again, the sanitation of these toilets is not great, especially if the previous user was careless with their aim. Another issue with Chinese restrooms is that in most you are not allowed to flush the toilet paper. In many areas, the plumbing isn’t capable of handling the waste paper. So what do people do with the waste paper? They place it in a garbage can or open bin. And again, the sanitation varies on whether or not the previous user cared to hit the bin with their waste paper. Even in restaurants and bars in the cities, I saw overflowing bins of used waste paper. That was in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai. The situation was worse in more rural areas.
TriciaJ, RN
4,328 Posts
What on earth does that even mean?