Researchers say new strains of coronavirus infection could spread to humans.
Chinese scientists have discovered several previously unknown types of coronavirus in bats. One of them may be genetically similar to SARS-CoV-2.
According to experts, new types of coronavirus infection, found in bats in Yunnan province, located in southwestern China, can spread to humans.
Scientists from the University of Shandong collected samples from small forest-dwelling bats between May 2019 and November 2020 and found that there are 24 new coronavirus genomes from different bat species, and four of them are similar to SARS-CoV-2.
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“In total, we assembled 24 novel coronavirus genomes from different bat species, including four SARS-CoV-2 like coronaviruses,” the team recorded in a study published in the journal Cell.
Together with the SARS-CoV-2 related virus collected from Thailand in June 2020, these results clearly demonstrate that viruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2 continue to circulate in bat populations, and in some regions might occur at a relatively high frequency.
Our study highlights the remarkable diversity of bat coronaviruses at the local scale, including close relatives of both SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV.
The bat species samples they collected are common across Southeast Asia, including southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and elsewhere.
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While there’s some dispute about the origin of the coronavirus pandemic, a WHO report said the most likely source is an animal — probably a bat.
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