All those who were born before 2019 and still alive are aware of the pandemic days although memories might have started fading even though COVID is not done and dusted yet.

Glimpses of towered stacks of cages, some rising as high as three meters, that are jam-packed consisting of creatures from Indonesia looks both mesmerizing and unsettling in Jakarta’s local markets. Scenes of bats flapping their wings restlessly beside raccoon dogs, macaques clinging to cage bars, and colorful songbirds chirping nervously. The heavy scent of musk mixes with the pungent stench of feces and urine, thick in the tropical air.

Markets like Jatinegara have long been in the crosshairs of public health experts. Their concern? The dangerous cocktail of species, humans, and poor hygiene creates a perfect breeding ground for deadly diseases to leap from animals to humans. According to James Wood, a veterinary epidemiologist at the University of Cambridge, "these markets remain one of the most efficient transmission highways for new infectious diseases." Situated in a megacity of over 11 million people with global travel connections, Jatinegara represents a ticking time bomb.

Wuhan's live animal markets were blamed for the global upheaval caused by COVID-19. While China banned most wildlife trade for food in 2020, the reality is that much of the activity has simply slipped into the shadows. Experts report wildlife trading still being practised raising concerns. Every day, thousands of animals are traded across borders, framing a vast, largely unregulated web where potential new pathogens evolve and travel. Many epidemiologists watching the situation closely consider this practice "probably the most dangerous thing humanity is doing."

Shifting the Scientific Lens

Before COVID-19, much of the scientific effort was placed on identifying new viruses found in the wild. The goal was to predict which ones might be causative agent for the next big outbreak. But many experts now admit that predicting such spillovers is far more complex than anticipated. Increasingly, the focus has shifted to the crucial moments when humans and wildlife intersect — particularly within wildlife markets and their sprawling supply chains.

Researchers are now diving into these hotspots like wildlife trading markets, with aim to decode how and why some pathogens cross over to humans while others don’t. But this work is painstaking, expensive, and often dangerous — and sustained funding remains a significant hurdle.

The Pangolin Crisis: A Symbol of the Wildlife Trade

In Vietnam's Cuc Phuong National Park, veterinary surgeon Tran Nam Trieu gently examines a rescued Sunda pangolin. Once captured near China’s border, this endangered animal now receives care at Save Vietnam’s Wildlife, a conservation group fighting to protect it from extinction.

The pangolin has become an unfortunate symbol of the illegal wildlife trade, largely driven by massive demand for its meat and scales, especially in China, where they’re falsely believed to cure various ailments. Even more concerning, studies have detected coronaviruses in confiscated pangolins, some genetically similar — though not identical — to SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID-19.

Though unlikely to have directly sparked the pandemic, these pangolin viruses, some even carrying features known to increase respiratory infectivity, highlight just how perilous the wildlife trade can be. James Wood acknowledges there’s a "small possibility" that lab work could have played a role in the pandemic’s origin — but stresses that the greater danger lies squarely in the wildlife trade itself.

In Vietnam, researchers like Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga from the Wildlife Conservation Society are working tirelessly to track viruses in pangolins moving through these trade routes, offering crucial insights into how pathogens spread from one country to another. Out of 246 confiscated pangolins studied between 2015 and 2018, seven were carrying coronaviruses — though they showed no signs of illness. Interestingly, pangolins confiscated earlier in the chain — directly from smugglers or the wild in Malaysia — tested negative, suggesting that the risk of viral infection increases the further the animals move through the supply network.

A similar pattern emerged in studies of rats sold for food in Vietnam. While few wild-caught rats carried viruses, the number testing positive skyrocketed once they reached markets and restaurants.

Human Behavior: The Invisible Fuel

Understanding how human actions drive these disease risks is crucial. In 2017, behavioral scientist Jusuf Kalengkongan embedded himself within bat-hunting communities in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Hunters regularly suffer scratches and bites while capturing bats — and often develop fevers afterward. But instead of seeking medical care, they typically rely on herbal remedies or over-the-counter medicine.

Kalengkongan recalls village elders mentioning mysterious outbreaks where dozens died in mere weeks — likely unreported, undocumented outbreaks that hint at how easily diseases can spread under the radar.

In Vietnam, a researcher carried similar research, digging into the sensitive world of wildlife trade networks. The answers his team found were sobering: when animals fall ill, some hunters simply sell them far away rather than report the problem — afraid that disclosure might jeopardize their livelihoods.

Hannah Brown, a medical anthropologist at Durham University, emphasizes that heavy-handed bans can backfire. After West Africa banned wild meat during the 2014–16 Ebola outbreak, much of the trade went underground. Today, many communities remain deeply suspicious of authorities and researchers alike.

Mapping the Hidden Highways of Disease

Some scientists have successfully built frameworks with local traders. In Indonesia's Langowan market, zoologist Tiltje Ransaleleh and her team carefully collect swabs from bats while speaking openly with vendors about where their animals come from. Their research has traced intricate networks of middlemen who buy up to a million bats annually from hunters and move them into widlife markets — each step increasing the risk of new emerging disease.

The Silent Global Gamble

As humanity barrels forward, the existing wildlife markets remains a dangerous intersection point — one where deadly viruses can quietly incubate before leaping into human populations. If the world hopes to avoid another catastrophic pandemic, shining a light into these shadowy markets — and understanding the intricate web of human behavior that sustains them — may be one of our last, best chances. Local organizations and public needs to be aware abut the reporting of possible disease and further spreading and hoping for no transmission to occur.