Abstract
The illegal trade of wildlife in SE Asia has been identified as the likely cause of the COVID-19 pandemic. We reviewed 198 papers on the current COVID pandemic in Cambodia, diseases such as avian influenza and Nipah virus, most likely to develop into a new pandemic in Cambodia, and common features of disease that require mitigation. Artisanal goldmining uses pure mercury in the areas where wildlife is smuggled to China. Moreover, 30–40% of Cambodians are zinc deficient. High levels of arsenic in irrigation water (>1000 µg/L) are associated with very low levels of zinc in rice (5 µg/g) and rice is the primary staple food for the region. Brown rice from nine of 15 paddy fields in the arsenic zone of Cambodia had double the new guidelines of 100 µg/kg inorganic arsenic for children’s food in the EU and USA. The combination of deficiencies of essential micronutrients like zinc and pervasive presence of arsenic and mercury has the potential to compromise the immunity of many Cambodians. Innovative solutions are suggested to improve micronutrient nutrition. Toxins that suppress the immune system must be better managed to reduce the virulence of pathogens. Cambodia was not likely the source of the COVID-19 but does have problems that could result in a new pandemic.
Highlights
This paper focuses on how agricultural methods in Cambodia could be improved to reduce zinc deficiency and in turn enhance the immune systems in Cambodians and their livestock [51,52,53]
A literature search found >28,500 publications of relevance to our interests that were identified through ResearchGate, Hinari, Agora, Oare, Google, ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Scopus using the key words pandemics, Cambodia, immune system, COVID-19, zinc, arsenic, malnutrition, micronutrient deficiency, anaemia, stunting, mercury, immunity impairment, zinc deficiency, phytic acid, phytase, livestock micronutrient deficiency, and fish micronutrient deficiency
These publications were grouped according to the major themes of our review
Summary
A little less than half of Cambodia remains undeveloped, but deforestation has been rapid [1]. The population (16,718,965; 2020) and economy of Cambodia (GDP per capita $1215; 2020) are growing rapidly. Urbanization is proceeding quickly and partly reflects the rapid development of garment factories [5,6]. There are significant differences in the nutrition of urban and rural Cambodians but recent migration probably reduces the extent of regional differences [7]. The greater presence of stunting of children in rural areas seems to reflect a greater deficiency of zinc [8,9]. Over a million young Cambodians, many from rural areas, have left to work overseas, mostly in Thailand [6]. Several hundred thousand young Cambodians have migrated to Khmer cities, Phnom
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