A Chinese travel presenter has apologised for a smiling video about the delicious advantages of eating bat on TV after it was revealed it was probably bats that spread the coronavirus to humans.
Pretty presenter Wang Mengyun, who hosts an online show about world travel, said on her blog that she was unaware that bats could be a virus carrier when she appeared in the footage which was posted online in 2017.
She said: “I had no idea during filming that there was such a virus. I only learned about it recently.
Video Credit: AsiaWire
“I didn’t know that bats are a primary carrier of viruses. I really did not check the information or explain its dangerous nature.”
Wang added that she was filming in the island country of Palau in the western Pacific Ocean about three years ago when they were trying various local dishes, including bat soup.
In the video, the presenter is accompanied by another Chinese woman as she samples the cooked bat and says: “It tastes very fresh, like chicken.”
According to local media, the video was taken down, but was later reposted by Chinese netizens.
The latest reports said that 81 people have been killed by the deadly Wuhan coronavirus which has now also spread overseas.
According to the National Health Commission, nearly 2,000 cases of the virus have been confirmed and 324 are said to be in a critical condition.
As health officials and researchers attempt to identify the virus’ origins, experts from the elite Chinese Academy of Sciences said last week that its genome is 96 percent identical to a bat coronavirus.
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Story By: Lee Bullen, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
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