The detection of a bacteria that cause cholera has been found in samples from softshell turtles at a wet market in Wuhan, sparking comparisons to the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Local authorities have confirmed the presence of the pathogen has been disinfected, but locals have been left uneasy.
The news comes on the back of a university student contracting a cholera infection, but the two incidents are believed to be separate. While no human cholera case has been found among those individuals who came in contact with the reptiles, the store was ordered to shut down for three days.
Cholera is a illness that is spread through contaminated food and water and causes acute diarrhoea, with pregnant women and children particularly vulnerable. China classifies it as a Class A disease, the strongest designation, with its detection spurring an emergency response from health officials.
The disease control authority in Wuhan's Hongshan district has said that they are now tracking a number of products from the same batch as the turtles, that have already been shipped elsewhere. Despite there being no evidence yet of a cholera outbreak, China citizens online have raised concerns of another Covid-like outbreak.
While the exact origins of the Covid-19 virus have yet to be determined, the emergence of cholera in the original epicenter of the pandemic comes as China’s health and food-supply systems face unprecedented scrutiny. On Weibo, China’s Twitter-like microblogging site, these fears became a trending topic, with one user writing: "Take the lesson of Covid and hurry up in source tracing to secure evidence!!!"
Andrew Greenhill, a microbiology professor at Federation University Australia said: "The detection of Vibrio cholerae O139 does again remind us that wet markets, while culturally and economically important in Asia, have associated with the various public health risks.” He added that at present there is no major cause for concern about the cholera case, while stressing the importance of surveillance.
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