Amid the demand for a fresh probe into the origin of coronavirus, Chinese researchers on Thursday announced that they have found a batch of new coronaviruses in bat. The batch includes one that may be the genetically second-closest to the Covid19 virus.
According to researchers, their discoveries in Southwestern China show just how many coronaviruses are there in bats and how many have the potential to spread to people.
In a published report, the Chinese researcher from Shandong University said, “In total, we assembled 24 novel coronavirus genomes from different bat species, including four SARS CoV-2 like coronaviruses.”
Weifeng Shi of the University of Shandong and colleagues have collected the samples from small forest-dwelling bats between May 2019 and November 2020. They tested the samples from the urine, feces as well as mouth swabs from bats.
The researchers claim that they have found a genetically very similar virus to the SARS CoV-2 that is causing the current pandemic. “it would be the closest strain to SARS CoV-2 except for genetic differences on the spike protein, the knob-like structure that the virus uses when attaching to cells,” they revealed.
Also Read: Explained: Covishield banned in several countries due to severe side-effects
“Together with SARS CoV-2 related virus collected from Thailand in June 2020, these results 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,” they added.
Since the very beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, researchers are trying to find where SARS CoV-2 came from. Amid these efforts, several researchers blame a lab leak from the Wuhan virology lab for the origin of coronavirus.
However, Chinese authorities and WHO itself have denied any such allegations.
Chinese researchers are emphasizing that the virus originated from bats. “Bats are well-known reservoir hosts for a variety of viruses that causes severe disease in humans and have been associated with the spillovers of Hendra virus, Marburg virus, Ebola virus and most notable coronaviruses. Aside from bats and humans, coronaviruses can infect a wide range of domestic and wild animals, including pigs, cattle, mice, cats, dogs, chicken dere and hedgehogs,” the researchers stated.