A recent outbreak in China of a new strand of coronavirus may be linked to an objectively disgusting Chinese delicacy called bat soup, according to reports.
Video footage online shows an entire cooked, dead bat sitting in soup. Scientists believe that the virus, which has killed 17 and infected over 640 people, could have spread from snakes or bats. Is this bat soup the cause of the quickly-spreading virus? (RELATED: Measles Outbreak Is Wreaking Havoc, Officials Report 71 New Cases)
WATCH:
Think nationals would shut you down if you had the pledges eat this?pic.twitter.com/SDNU2ztC44
— Old Row (@OldRowOfficial) January 23, 2020
The video footage has not been verified, although bats are used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat various illnesses, according to the Daily Mail. Multiple videos have been published online showing people eating the bats sitting in soup, the Daily Mail noted.
“Eat the meat! [Don’t] eat the skin,” a man in one of the videos reportedly says. “[You] should eat the meat on its back.”
Coronavirus cases have been confirmed in China, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, and the U.S. as of Thursday, NBC News reported.