Danish virologist Thea Fischer has defended comments that she made to a Danish media outlet that the Covid-19 virus could have originated in Chatuchak Weekend Market by saying that she was misquoted and misrepresented.
Following reports in the Danish media outlet Politiken, Fischer said that she was only using Chatuchak as an example of “these markets” in Asia where there is exotic wildlife stacked next to each other and where such virus can make the jump from species to species.
“The headline and information in the article….distort the message…” Fischer tweeted.
Enig i at overskriften og indledning i denne artikel desv er m til at forvrænge indhold og budskab: at disse markeder m levende (eksotiske/vilde) dyr tæt stablet i små bure kan være udgangspunkt for pandemiske virus, som vi har set det tidligere fx #SARS i 2003. @torshammer50 https://t.co/uIA69D7DAk
— Thea K Fischer, Prof. i PH Virus Inf. og Epidemier (@TheaKFischer) February 23, 2021
“Im not pointing at that specific market only stating the there is a high chance that infections cross species animal to animal or animal to humans at such markets,” said Fischer in another tweet.
Fischer had come under significant criticism on social media both abroad and in Thailand by people who have pointed out that it is widely accepted that the Covid-19 virus originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
One should also point out that the distance between Wuhan and Thailand is over 2,000 kilometers. “These markets and places like these” are startling generalizations made by a senior public health official and would be akin to saying the markets in Copenhagen and the markets in Casablanca, Morocco are probably the same.
