Coronavirus Is Linked To Eating Meat, Non-Vegetables? What Experts Said

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in India rose to 29, including 16 Italians touring through Rajasthan, and two suspected cases were reported from Ghaziabad on Wednesday. The government said all international passengers will now be screened at airports, amid growing concern over the spread of the respiratory infection. A total of six coronavirus cases including one Italian was reported in the country as on Tuesday.

With more cases being reported across the globe, there has been a spike of unverified claims and myths as well. One such claim is warning against eating non-vegetables. Twitter was full of posts with trends like "Stop Eating Meat" and "No Meat No Coronavirus".

According to doctors, consumption of raw meat should be avoided. But that doesn’t mean meat should entirely be cut out of the diet.

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"The rumour has emerged because most of those infected in Wuhan had some contact with one of the sea food markets in that place. There is no conclusive evidence as far as meat or diet is concerned. But, as a precaution and especially in India, it is a good idea, generally also, to avoid raw meat. It is better to have cooked meat. As of now, there is no advisory that prevents you from eating any non-vegetarian food. But it should always be a well-cooked food. That should be safe enough," NDTV quoted Dr Anant Mohan from the Pulmonary Medicine Department at All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) as saying.

Experts also said it would be scientifically baseless if any meat-eater or a non-vegetarian is held responsible for spreading coronavirus. Business Insider reported that it's not accurate to say that the virus is linked eating meat, as Peta UK has.

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In fact, PETA was recently mocked on social media after it had claimed that eating meat may cause coronavirus. The aggressive animal rights organisation made the shocking suggestion on Twitter last week, writing: 'Carnivorous is an anagram of coronavirus. Coincidence? We think NOT!'

Thousands of netizens accused PETA of spreading dangerous misinformation and also pointing out a few unflattering anagrams of the name 'PETA.'