The swine flu was manageable, because it's a type of flu.

The problem with those wet markets, just like with bush meat in Africa, is that they promote new types of viruses. Fixing those markets is not going to stop all new diseases, but it will prevent some of the most dangerous to emerge.

The main concern here is that the issue has been long known, and unlike poor, wild Africa where taking action is nearly impossible due to severe economic and political difficulties, the Chinese dictatorship's inaction was avoidable.

> The swine flu was manageable, because it's a type of flu.

How about the 1918 flu, misnamed "Spanish" even though the earliest known cases were in Kansas? That's the closest parallel we have to COVID-19, and it wasn't cause by Traditional Chinese Medicine or bush meat or anything like that.

You say Kansas, some people have pointed at China. I read a book a long time ago that said France, more specifically a US or UK military camp where pigs, horses, chickens and wounded men were in close quarters.

In any case, the start of the epidemic during WW1 hints that the origin may be linked to it. That bushmeat or wet markets are currently a huge risk does not mean that there are no other types of risky situations.

Of course someone said it was China. It's only slightly more surprising that they'd say France, but some people will jump at any chance to place the blame "over there" and it has nothing to do with the science. The earliest documented cases were in Haskell county, from which it spread to Fort Riley, and from there to the WW1 front, etc.

https://www.kansas.com/news/local/article200880539.html

Note that it's a Kansas source. People there don't deny it.

> In any case, the start of the epidemic during WW1 hints that the origin may be linked to it.

Citation needed. The war certainly contributed to its spread but that's not the same as its origin.

There doesn't have to be consensus before you can show evidence, and accusing others of bad faith is against the rules.

It's true that these viruses have arisen in other places. But it is not true that there is nothing special about China. Chinese wet markets are uniquely susceptible to the generation of these sorts of pathogens, for reasons that are explained all over in the comments of this thread, and in the original article.