Geography … in the news: Coronavirus (Part 1)

Transportation, belief systems, data, movement of species (including people), boundaries, doubts, and a whole lot more … all of these connected by our old friend Geography.

In the news

I am presuming that you are paying attention to what’s going on in the world around you. If not, time you started doing so. There are things about that affect you, personally. And subjects such as geography become really interesting.

Lately, over the past few weeks, you are likely to have heard about the coronavirus outbreak that has happened in Wuhan, China. A brief look at this unfolding story shows us many connections to geography.

What is it?

The World Health Organization (WHO) gives us this basic information:

“Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans.

“Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people.  Detailed investigations found that SARS-CoV was transmitted from civet cats to humans and MERS-CoV from dromedary camels to humans. Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans.

“Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death.

“Standard recommendations to prevent infection spread include regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs. Avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.” [Source,  Accessed: 27 Jan 2020]

The latest nCoV has been temporarily labeled 2019-nCoV. However, most people and the media are calling it Coronavirus.

Exotic: “of foreign origin or character; not native; introduced from abroad, but not fully naturalized or acclimatized.’ (dictionary.com) Notice right here, the geography involved. Not only is an exotic species from somewhere else, it is also transported (smuggled) to another location. This movement is important. Demand in the destination drives the supply from the origin.

Beliefs and tastes

China is a huge market for exotic wildlife trade – dead and alive, parts and whole animals. Ivory, rhino horns, civet cats, snakes, and a large number of other species are illegally transported in and out of China. These species come from a large number of locations (see? Geography!) around the world and find their way to China’s markets.

There are many beliefs that parts of this wildlife are beneficial to human health and well-being. Chief among them is the belief that consuming these increases the virility of men.

These species are coming from different places around the world. Their transportation is illegal; therefore, it is smuggling.

The demand for these species is huge.

Hubs

Two kinds of population hubs are particularly crucial to the spread of pathogens, in this case the 2019-nCoV: (1) the market where exotic wildlife are traded (sold), and (2) transportation centres (bus stations, railway stations, airports). What is common to both types of hubs? Large numbers of people in very close contact with each other (i.e., dense populations).

The market in Wuhan, where the 2019-nCoV was traced, is reportedly very unhygienic and wet. High congestion is makes it easy for the virus to be transmitted from animals to humans. This is called zoonosis, when pathogens jump from one species to another. In this case, the jump is from a non-human species to humans.

The danger is that such viruses rapidly spread from humans to other humans also. This has started occurring and the speed with which it is spreading is causing a lot of concern and action in countries around the world. Because people travel, the virus travels with them. For this reason, China announced a lockdown of several cities. As I write this, some 25 million people are under lockdown. No one is allowed to enter or leave these cities.

The Chinese follow the lunar calendar and the New Year celebrations for the ‘year of the rat’ (2020) run from 25 January to 4 February 2020. Traditionally, the New Year is peak travel season as millions of Chinese travel home for the celebrations. You can readily imagine what a huge problem this poses.

Precautions

The simplest precaution that doctors are advising: frequently wash your hands with soap and water (preferably warm); if you have to cough or sneeze do so into a hanky or a tissue or into your sleeve; if you cough or sneeze into your hands, wash them immediately with soap and water. People wear masks, but these are probably not all that effective in preventing transmission. The WHO has published a poster on simple things we can do to prevent transmission.

In Part 2, we will look at a little more detail and up-to-date developments.

Explore:

1. What is the population of China? What is its rank among population size in the world? Which country is next in that rank and with what population size?
2. Make a list of exotic wildlife species that are in demand in China.
3. On a world map, mark the countries from which these species are smuggled to China.
4. If you are in charge of preventing the occurrence of 2019-cNoV in India, what is the sequence of steps you would take? How will a good knowledge of geography help you in this task?

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A version of this article appeared in the Deccan Herald Student Edition on 29 January 2020

Featured image: W.H.O. prevention poster for coronavirus. [Source,  accessed 3 Feb. 2020. You can download information posters from that W.H.O. site for free!]