Who or what do you think is to blame for the coronavirus? COVID-19

[haveanicedayx]

and do you think any changes will be made in order to prevent / reduce the risk of any other global pandemic in the future.

Yes but the bats in their natural habitat would not be stressed. CV is a natural virus to bats, and it lives happily there. It has no need to cross to humans to survive. It was not a natural process.

It was not a natural process.

Of course it is. Our food made us sick. That's the most natural process there is.

@MrsTerryPratchett there's a book about that! Death of Grass by John Christopher.

“ It has no need to cross to humans to survive”

But it would want to cross in order to evolve.

@Bagelsandbrie I'm with you.. definitely man made.

Eating bats wouldn't cause it, it is the shedding of virus from live bats that are going through extreme stress.

Blame?! None. There are reasons for it coming about (nature) and for how it was spread (highly mobile world) but not blame. I find it really disturbing that in a time when the world has a united cause to fight you are trying to divide.

We've been overdue a pandemic, in the same way we are overdue Vesuvius erupting. We were able to contain MERS and SARS but it was a warning that a coronavirus might be an issue. Swine Flu (first flu pandemic of the 21st century) wasn't as bad as we feared because the older population had immunity from a similar flu from the 1960s. We had three pandemics in the 20th century: 'Hong Kong' flu in the 60s and 'Asian Flu' in the 50s (both killed 1- 4 million) plus the terrible 'Spanish Flu' in 1918-19 that killed over 50 million.

No-one is to blame. Epidemiologists have been saying for years this could happen, actuaries have had it as the no 1 risk for decades. We knew it was coming just not in what form.

Definitely wasn't China.

Certainly not.

Nothing to do with them.

Nope.

Yes I agree, the word 'blame' is not helpful. But I strongly believe it is man-made and to avoid similar pandemics in the future we need to change our relationship with natural habitats. This is a wake up call.

Disagree with those saying that pandemics are a natural occurrence. It's been feared for years that the poor sanitation in Chinese wet markets would lead to a SARS outbreak. It was fundamentally preventable.

China and the WHO both bear responsibility for not being honest about knowing the disease could be passed between humans (WHO in particular for ignoring Taiwan's information). The rest of the world should have had more time to prepare.

China bears most of the responsibility. Much as I love the country, the government has a hell of a lot to answer for.

I do blame China

I've long thought that the really scary disease is one that effects grasses, like rice. Think like the potato blight did during the Potato Famine.

Like in John Christopher's novel
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Grass

I'm not sure we'll ever really know.

I'm also generally not one for 'conspiracy theories' but there are 2 labs in Wuhan, one was researching Coronavirus in bats. Also, they successfully created a virus that was able to move from bats to humans, which I think was either in 2016 or 2017.

Also, there were reports of lab workers being contaminated with biological matter from bats, once with blood and once with urine, and having to self isolate.

It all just feels a little too coincidental.

I think it’s man made. I know others will think that’s a load of nonsense. I think it was made in a lab and was never meant to get out.

Why do you think that? I’m honestly interested.

It’s genetically very close to bat coronaviruses and, given its emergence in a part of the world where spillover from animals (esp wildlife) to humans is more likely and common.

I would have expected a bioengineered version to have the infectiousness of COVID-19 with the mortality rate of SARS or MERS, but I’m not an expert in bio weapons...

“ . I find it really disturbing that in a time when the world has a united cause to fight you are trying to divide.”

I don’t see it as blame. I just find it weird that some humans think they can beat nature every single time.

China, but we’re not allowed to say it.

Thanks @Tinuviel I'll add that to the pandemic reading list!

The evolutionists have shared their scientific logic. Any of the 'it's man made' people care to?

My understanding is that is a combination of human mistreatment of animals and overpopulation/international travel
This. Going forwards if we want to miminalise the chances of it happening again, we need to think again before having large families, improve access to healthcare and contraception globally, reduce our international travel (certainly the frequency) - and, if we must eat animals, do so in a more hygienic and less cruel way than wet markets or industrialised farming (which is a major cause of antibiotic resistance).

Thanks @Tinuviel I'll add that to the pandemic reading list!

The film version wasn't that good though it did sport Nigel Davenport looking rather dashing in an eyepatch.

China

DarnedSocks yes that would be a start.

I think it’s man made. I know others will think that’s a load of nonsense.

It is nonsense. There have been hundreds of scientists all over the world studying the sequence since the Chinese released the data in early January. It is not manmade, we could tell if it was.

Also, swine flu came from a mixing of a swine and avian virus in Mexico, Spanish Flu came from ducks on a farm in the US. Viruses can jump species when humans and animals are in close proximity but that is true on every farm in the world.

we need to think again before having large families, improve access to healthcare and contraception globally, reduce our international travel (certainly the frequency)

Surely China is winning most of those. China and India have a billion people each, in very close quarters, changing rapidly. Of course they are the likely place. Were I an opportunistic virus about town, that's where I'd launch my bid for international stardom.

Exactly what Scottishgirl85 said.
Numerous scientists all over the world have studied the virus and said it cannot possibly be manmade.
However the mistreating of animals, over population and globalisation are to blame.