On 15 June 2020, in response to the widely questioned “salmon-infected virus”, Wu Zunyou, a chief expert in epidemology from the China CDC said on the official website of the CCP's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection that foreign workers handling fish may have been infected with the virus and contaminated the surface of the fish. The contaminated fish was then shipped to China, causing an outbreak in Beijing.
On another platform, Wu Zunyou revealed to People's Daily that from the perspective of the composition of the virus, this virus is not like the strain of the case that appeared in Beijing two months ago, but more like Europe, but the European does not represent from European countries. The concept of Europe is extensive, including analysis with US virus strains, most of which are from Europe, and most of the cases in Russia are also from Europe. That is to say, the results of China CDC's laboratory tests show that the strains are from Europe and may be from European countries. The virus may also come from an American country or Russia, and further information needs to be collected to help judgement.
What "an American country" does Wu Zunyou refer to? American may refer to the United States but it could also refer to the American continents (North America and South America). Could the People's Republic of China import salmon from the US, Canada, South America and Russia?
Salmon exporters to PRC
StayGate has done searches on the Internet based on Wu Zunyou's statements and found that the PRC does imported salmon from the United States, specifically Pacific salmon, but the proportion is less than major exporters of salmon. Minor salmon exporters to PRC also include the United Kingdom and Australia.
According to Rachel Mutter, who contributed an article on China's imported salmon to Intrafish Media, an authoritative source on the world's fishing trade, Chile, Norway and the Faroe Islands of Denmark are the main suppliers of PRC's imported salmon, with rapid growth in the market in recent years playing a key role in producers' strategies. Because these countries are too far away from PRC, the country mainly imports salmon by air.
Norway exported 3,141 metric tons of salmon to PRC in April 2020, up by 97 percent year-on-year, according to data from the Norwegian Seafood Council. The country held 45 percent market share of fresh salmon to PRC from January to April 2020.
In 2019, Chile exported around 35,000 metric tons of salmon products to PRC, about five per cent of Chile's total exports. Chile is the second major salmon exporter to PRC after Norway.
Among the salmon exporter countries, there were similar outbreaks in Norway and Chile prior to the Xinfadi outbreak.
Covid outbreaks in seafood processing plants outside China
Prior to the Xinfadi market covid outbreak, there have been reports of covid outbreaks in external seafood processing factories around the world.
According to Intrafish Media, the number of cases involving seafood processing plants outside China have increased in the last three months with over 40 known cases between April and May 2020.
The actual number of infections at seafood processing factories is unknown as the numbers depend on publicly available data or companies reporting the cases themselves.The available data shows that covid infections have been on the rise and are likely to increase as testing becomes more widespread throughout the world.
The sizeable list of companies that have reported covid infections include Thai Union, Trident Seafoods, Ocean Beauty Seafoods, High Liner Foods, Pacific Seafood, Bornstein Seafoods, Bristol Seafood, Blue Harvest Fisheries, Blumar, Camanchaca and Leroy Seafood. The affected seafood processing factories are located in Ghana, the United States, Poland, Chile and Norway.
Among the companies above, Blumar and Camanchaca are Chilean salmon processors while Leroy Seafood is the Norway salmon processor and the second largest exporter of salmon and trout to PRC.
Image courtesy : Marius Fiskum
According to Fish Farming Experts, another web-site reporting on the fish trade, the covid outbreak at Leroy Seafood involves two workers at its Leroy Fossen trout processing facility on the Norwegian island of Osteroy where the workers are tested positive for covid in April 2020. The island is near Bergen, Norway. The outbreak has infected further 18 workers of the processing plant in Oeteroy. Since then all 150 staff have been asked to stay home and not to return to the processing plant.
Leroy Fossen, the official name for Leroy Seafood, produces a range of hot smoked, cold smoked and marinated trout products and salmon. It exports salmon to PRC after the country lifts restrictions on imports from Leroy Seafood, Nordlaks and and Salmar on 21 May 2019, according to a report by Undercurrent News.
During that time, Leroy's public affairs manager, Krister Hooas, noted his firm has had access to the Chinese market with fish from other processing plants and factories, "but this is, of course, positive and gives us more flexibility".
Could the coronavirus at Xinfadi outbreak originate from the covid outbreak at the processing plant at Osteroy?
The world's first covid outbreak at a salmon processing plant happens in Chile, at Blumar Seafoods' Salmones de Talcahuano processing factory on 21 March 2020, according to IntraFish Media's report dated 31 March 2020. A maintenance worker was infected and nine workers who had contact with the infected worker during his shift were isolated.
According to the statement, the 35-year-old worker was initially diagnosed with influenza but his second medical checkup discovered his illness is actually covid.
Another covid outbreak in Chile happens at Camanchaca's Pesca Sur shrimp processing factory in early April 2020.
The PRC imports salmon from Blumar and Camanchaca.
According to Reuters, the Xinfadi market claims to be the largest wholesale fresh food market in Asia, and supplies Beijing with 80 percent of its meat and vegetables across an area the size of 160 football fields.
The market is a key supplier to several of the city's large retailers and caused many of them to remove imported salmon from their shelves across Beijing.
Carrefour and Wumart were among the supermarkets to stop selling the product, despite virologists saying that fish cannot transmit SARS-CoV-2 to humans.
Lin Li, chief scientist of a team that monitors aquatic disease and control in Guangdong, told Intrafish that it is impossible for live salmon to be contaminated with SARS-CoV-2. She dismisses frozen salmon can be a source of the novel coronavirus which can only exist in active cells.
Lin Li said, "It may be possible for salmon to be contaminated by virus-contaminated water during processing, transportation or packaging".
According to Wu Zunyou, SARS-CoV-2 survives on cold surfaces for two to three months. The cold chain for seafood and other fresh edibles could conceivably have prolonged the coronavirus' life to allow for transmission over long distances.
As a result of Wu's statement on the livespan of covi, the PRC has banned salmon imports from Norway but not from Chile.
Then, who introduced SARS-CoV-2 to the seafood market?
Wu added SARS-CoV-2 is more than likely to be introduced by an infected, asymptomatic person and the close quarters and activity at the Xinfadi market.
Refs :
China lifts salmon sanctions on Leroy, Salmar, Nordlaks plants, Undercurrent News, https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2019/05/21/china-lifts-salmon-sanctions-on-leroy-salmar-nordlaks-plants/
Camanchaca leaves Chilean JV to pursue own Chinese operation, Undercurrent News, https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2020/04/24/camanchaca-leaves-chilean-jv-to-pursue-own-chinese-operation/
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