Health authorities have activated their most serious response level.

衛生官員啟動了最高應變措施。

After an outbreak of a new type of viral pneumonia in central China.

在病毒引起的肺炎在中國中部爆發後。

A rapidly growing number of people were developing a dry cough and fever, before getting pneumonia.

有許多人在得到肺炎前出現了乾咳與發燒的症狀。

And for some, it turned fatal.

而其中有些人，症狀變得致命。

Doctors have named the disease COVID-19 or "coronavirus disease, 2019" indicating that a type of virus is causing the illness.

醫界將此疾病定名為 COVID-19 或「2019 新型冠狀病毒」，表明某種病毒造成了這個疾病。

When they'd tried to trace its origin, they found a likely source.

當他們試著尋找病毒來源時，他們找到了一個可能的源頭。

This food market in Wuhan.

在中國武漢的這個市場。

Out of the first 41 patients, 27 had been here.

最初的 41 名確診患者裡，有 27 位到過這裡。

It wasn't conclusive evidence, but Chinese officials quickly shut down the market.

這並沒有確切的證據，但中國官員很快地便關閉了該市場。

They had seen this happen before at a place just like this.

他們已經見過類似的事，在類似的地方。

Health officials are trying to get a grip on an alarming outbreak of SARS.

衛生官員正嘗試摸清楚這 SARS 病毒的爆發。

The virus originated in mainland China.

該病毒源自中國大陸。

Then spread across the country.

很快地散播至全中國。

The disease had been festering for months in southern China.

疫情在中國南部不斷加速。

In 2002, a coronavirus had emerged at a very similar market in southern China.

2002 年時，一種冠狀病毒出現在中國南部，一個類似的市場。

It eventually reached 29 countries and killed nearly 800 people.

該病毒最後傳遞到了 29 國，並殺死近乎 800 人。

Now, 18 years later, this coronavirus is in at least 71 countries and has already killed over 3100 people.

在 18 年後的現在，這種冠狀病毒傳播到了至少 71 國，並且已經使超過 3,100 人喪生。

So, what do these markets have to do with the coronavirus outbreak and why is it happening in China?

究竟這些市場與冠狀病毒的爆發有何關係，且為何病毒總會出現在中國？

Vox atlas.

Vox 大解密。

A lot of the viruses that make us sick, actually originate in animals.

許多讓人類生病的病毒，其實都源自於動物。

Some of the viruses that cause the flu come from birds and pigs.

某些造成流感的病毒，來自鳥類與豬。

HIV/AIDS comes from chimpanzees.

愛滋病毒則來自黑猩猩。

The deadly Ebola virus likely originates in bats.

致命的伊波拉病毒則很可能源自蝙蝠。

And in the case of the 2019 coronavirus, there is some evidence it went from a bat to a pangolin before infecting a human.

而在這次的 2019 新冠病毒，有證據顯示，該病毒是從蝙蝠傳至穿山甲，再傳到人類身上。

While viruses are very good at jumping between species, it's rare for a deadly one to make this journey all the way to humans.

雖然病毒很容易在物種間傳遞，但如此致命的病毒要一路傳遞到人類身上，是很少見的。

Thats because it would need all these hosts to encounter each other at some point.

因為這些宿主都需要在某個時刻同時接觸到彼此，才會發生病毒傳遞。

That's where the Wuhan market comes in.

這就是武漢市場扮演的角色。

It's a wet market.

它是個菜市場。

A kind of place where live animals are slaughtered and sold for consumption.

一種活體動物會在此處被宰殺，並販賣給消費者的地方。

It was not a surprise at all.

這一點都不令人感到驚訝。

And I think that it was not a surprise to many scientists.

我想許多科學家一定也這麼認為。

Peter Li is a professor and expert on China's animal trade.

Peter Li 是名教授，也是名中國動物販賣的專家。

The cages are stacked one over another.

裝著動物的籠子都被堆疊在一起。

Animals at the bottom are often soaked with all kinds of liquid.

在下層的動物經常被泡在各種液體內。

Animal excrement, pus, blood.

動物排泄物、膿汁，甚至血。

Whatever the liquid they are receiving from the animals above.

任何可能從上層動物留下的液體。

That's exactly how a virus can jump from one animal to another.

這就是病毒如何在動物間傳播的。

If that animal then comes in contact with or is consumed by a human, the virus could potentially infect them.

如果該動物後來被人類碰觸或食用，病毒就有可能傳染給他們。

And if the virus then spreads to other humans, it causes an outbreak.

若病毒再進一步傳染給其他人，就會造成疫情爆發。

Wet markets are scattered all over the world, but the ones in China are particularly well known because they offer a wide variety of animals, including wildlife.

全世界都有菜市場，但中國的特別有名，因為他們供應各種動物，包含各種野味。

This is a sample menu, reportedly from the market in Wuhan.

這是張目錄，據稱是武漢市場的。

These animals are from all over the world and each one has the potential to carry its own viruses to the market.

這些動物來自世界各地，且每種動物都有可能攜帶自己的病毒到市場內。

The reason all these animals are in the same market is because of a decision China's government made decades ago.

這些動物都集中於同一個市場的原因是，中國政府於數十年前所下的一個決定。

Back in the 1970s, China was falling apart.

回到 1970 年代，當時中國分崩離析。

Famine had killed more than 36 million people.

超過 3,600 萬人因飢荒而死。

And the communist regime, which controlled all food production, was failing to feed its more than 900 million people.

而共產政權控制了所有的食物的生產，導致有超過 9,000 萬人無法被餵飽。

In 1978, on the verge of collapse, the regime gave up this control and allowed private farming.

1978 年時，在崩塌的邊際，該政權放棄這項控制，並允許私人畜養家畜。

While large companies increasingly dominated the production of popular foods like pork and poultry, some smaller farmers turned to catching and raising wild animals as a way to sustain themselves.

大公司支配了大眾食物的生產，如豬肉與家禽，一些小農夫只好轉向捕捉、畜養野生動物來養活自己。

At the very beginning, it was mostly peasant household, backyard operations of turtles, for example.

在最初，通常都是農夫家庭，在自家後院飼養烏龜等野生生物。

That's how wildlife farming started to get off the ground.

這就是野生動物飼養的開始。

And since it started to feed and sustain people, the Chinese government backed it.

而因為這項生意開始提供了一些人的生計，中國政府便支持了它。

So it was imperative for the government to encourage people, you know, to make a living through whatever productive activities they can find themselves in.

在當時，中國政府非常需要人民自己找到能過活的方式，什麼生產方式都可。

If you can lift yourself out of poverty, no matter what you are doing, that's okay.

如果你能脫離貧窮，不管什麼方法，都沒問題。

But then in 1988, the government made a decision that changed the shape of wildlife trade in China.

但到了 1988 年，中國政府做了一個改變野生動物貿易的決定。

They enacted the Wildlife Protection Law which designated the animals as "resources owned by the state" and protected people engaged in the "utilization of wildlife resources."

中國頒布了野生動物保護法，將動物們視為「國家資源」，並保護那些從事「野生動物利用」生意的人。

That's one of the most devastating problems of the law.

這是這條法律最糟糕的地方。

Because if you designate the wildlife as "natural resources," that means it's something you can use for human benefit.

因為如果你將野生動物視為「自然資源」，這就代表那是可用於提升人類益處的東西。

The law also "encouraged the domestication and breeding of wildlife."

該法律也「鼓勵馴養與繁殖野生動物」。

And with that, an industry was born.

有了這條法律，一個新產業誕生了。

Small local farms turned into industrial-sized operations.

地方小農變成了工業規模的產業。

For example, this bear farm started with just three, and eventually grew to more than 1,000 bears.

舉例來說，這個熊農場一開始只有三隻熊，最終繁殖到了超過一千隻熊。

Bigger populations meant greater chances that a sick animal could spread disease.

人口越多代表有病毒的動物越容易傳播病毒。

Farmers were also raising a wide variety of animals.

農夫們也常會養各種種類的動物。

Which meant more viruses on the farms.

這代表了更多病毒。

Nonetheless, these animals were funneled into the wet markets for profit.

儘管如此，這些動物仍然被運送至菜市場販售。

While this legal wildlife farming industry started booming, it simultaneously provided cover for an illegal wildlife industry.

在這個合法野生動物畜養業開始蓬勃發展時，同時也為非法野生動物產業提供了掩護。

Endangered animals like tigers, rhinoceroses, and pangolins, were trafficked into China.

像是老虎、犀牛、穿山甲等的瀕危動物，被非法交易至中國。

By the early 2000s, these markets were teeming with wild animals when the inevitable happened.

到了 2000 年早期，這些市場充斥著各種野生動物，無可避免的事便發生了。

The latest on the deadly SARS virus, the worldwide death toll up again today.

SARS 的最新疫情，全球死亡人數於今日又上升了。

China has reported more than 1,400 cases of infection nationwide.

中國全境已有超過 1,400 例確診。

It is what health officials have feared all along.

這就是健康官員所擔心的。

In 2003, the SARS outbreak was traced to a wet market here, in southern China.

2003 年時，SARS 的來源可以回朔至中國南部的一個市場。

Scientists found traces of the virus in farmed civet cats.

科學家在養殖的麝貓中發現病毒的蹤跡。

Chinese officials quickly shut down the markets and banned wildlife farming.

中國官員很快地關閉了市場，並禁止養殖野生動物。

But just a few months after the outbreak, the Chinese government declared 54 species of wildlife animals, including civet cats, legal to farm again.

但在疫情爆發後僅僅幾個月，中國政府宣布 54 種野生動物 (包含麝貓) 的禁令解禁。

By 2004, the wildlife-farming industry was worth an estimated 100 billion yuan.

到了 2004 年，整個野生動物養殖產業估計價值 1,000 億人民幣。

And it exerted significant influence over the Chinese government.

且此產業對中國政府已產生影響力。

The wildlife farming industry was tiny in China's gigantic GDP.

野生動物養殖產業在整個中國的巨大 GDP 裡僅佔了極小部分。

But the industry has enormous lobbying capability.

但此產業有巨大的遊說空間。

It's because of this influence that the Chinese government has allowed these markets to grow over the years.

這是因為這股影響，讓中國政府允許這個產業在這幾年間不斷成長。

In 2016, for example, the government sanctioned the farming of some endangered species like tigers, and pangolins.

如在 2016 年，中國政府允許了某些瀕危動物的養殖，像是老虎與穿山甲。

By 2018, the wildlife industry had grown to 148 billion yuan and had developed clever marketing tactics to keep the markets around.

到了 2018 年，野生動物產業的產值成長到了 1,480 億元，也發展出一些更聰明的市場策略。

The industry has been promoting these wildlife animals as tonic products, as bodybuilding, as sex enhancing, and, of course, as disease fighting.

這產業不斷宣稱野生動物是滋補產品，可以增強體力、增進性事，還有當然，對抗疾病。

None of the claims can hold water.

以上宣稱的療效，沒有一個站得住腳。

Yet, these products became popular with an influential portion of China's population.

然而，這些產品在中國握有影響力的一群中變得熱門。

The majority of the people in China do not eat wildlife animals.

大部分的中國人並不吃野味。

Those people who consume these wildlife animals are the rich and the powerful.

會吃野味的人，是那些有錢有勢的人。

A small minority

一個小族群而已。

It's this minority that the Chinese government chose to favor over the safety of the rest of its population.

就是這個小族群，讓中國政府決定忽視剩下人民的安危。

This parochial commercial interest of a small number of wildlife eaters are hijacking China's national interest.

這狹窄的商業利益，傷害了中國的整體國家利益。

Soon after the coronavirus outbreak, the Chinese government shut down thousands of wet markets and temporarily banned wildlife trade again.

很快地，在新冠肺炎爆發後，中國政府關閉了數以千計的市場，並再度暫時禁止野生動物貿易。

Organizations around the world have been urging China to make the ban permanent.

全球各個組織力勸中國永久性禁止野生動物交易。

Chinese social media, in particular, has been flooded with petitions to ban it for good this time.

中國社群軟體上也是，湧入無數希望中國政府永久取消野生動物交易的請願。

In response, China is reportedly amending the Wildlife Protection Law that encouraged wildlife farming decades ago.

作為回應，中國據稱正在修訂那鼓勵該產業的野生動物保護法。

But unless these actions lead to a permanent ban on wildlife farming, outbreaks like this one are bound to happen again.

直到野生動物交易被永遠禁止前，像新冠肺炎般的疫情爆發，是一定會再發生的。

For a bunch more information about China's wet-markets, viruses, and wildlife, we have an episode on our Netflix show called ”The Next Pandemic, explained."

若想要得到更多中國菜市場、病毒與野生動物的資訊，我們在 Netflix 的節目有一集叫「下一次大流行，大解釋」。

It talks about why a coronavirus could spark the next pandemic and what the world's experts are doing to stop it.

節目裡將談論一個冠狀病毒是如何造成全球大流行，與全球專家們正試著要如何解決它。

That's on our Netflix show Explained, check it out.

這都在我們 Netflix 的節目《Explained》中，去看看吧！