[ad_1]
Image source,FAKE IMAGES
Bats can host multiple viruses (GETTY IMAGES)
Scientists have discovered that the coronavirus related to the new coronavirus disease can spread in bats that have appeared in many parts of Asia.
The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is caused by a virus called “Severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2” (Sars-CoV-2). Scientists are at a wildlife sanctuary in eastern Thailand A very close coronavirus to this virus was found in bats.
Researchers speculate that similar coronaviruses can also be found in bats in many Asian countries and regions.
They believe this may allow the same type of coronavirus to spread over an area of 4,800 kilometers, including Japan, China and Thailand.
An article published in the scientific journal “Nature Communications” stated that the location and quantity of samples from scientists may be limited (only in Thailand), but believe “a high genetic similarity to Sars-CoV-2 Coronavirus is seen in bats in Asian countries and regions “.
Previous studies have shown that the Sars-CoV-2 virus arose from animals, probably bats, and then spread to humans.
However, the exact origin of the virus is still unknown and experts from the World Health Organization cannot be sure after preliminary investigations.
A team led by researcher Wang Linfa from the University of Singapore found a coronavirus very similar to Sars-CoV-2 in a chrysanthemum-headed bat in an artificial cave in eastern Thailand.
The coronavirus they found was called “RacCS203,” and the genetic genome of the Sars-CoV-2 virus was 91.5% similar.
It is also very similar to another coronavirus of the same type “RmYN02”, which can be found in bats in Yunnan, China, and has a similarity of up to 93.6% in the genetic genome of the Sars-CoV-2 virus.
The research team hailed from Thailand, Singapore, China, Australia, and the United States, collecting antibodies from bats and smuggling pangolins into southern Thailand for research.
The research team said that these antibodies are enough to inactivate the virus, further demonstrating that the coronavirus related to the new coronavirus disease is spreading in Southeast Asia.
Professor Martin Hibberd from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said this discovery confirmed the widespread distribution of bats and viruses, and may include the original origin of the current new corona epidemic.
But he said more research is needed to understand how Sars-CoV-2 infects humans from animals, and the latest WHO research cannot find specific evidence on this.
