Himedik.com – Chinese scientists discovered the type virus new in bat which is similar to corona virus Covid-19 up to 94.5 percent.
They said the findings reinforce the importance of tracing viruses from animals that could potentially spread to humans.
Previously, scientists estimated that we could face a similar pandemic every five years, possibly due to zoonotic diseases, where viral infections pass from animals to humans.
The threat of an unknown virus that can be transmitted to humans and could potentially cause a widespread epidemic is known as disease X by the World Health Organization (WHO).
In this case, bats are known as hosts for various viruses that can cause severe disease in humans.
The last identified bat virus is called RpYN06, which has almost the same genetics as SARS-CoV-2, namely the virus that causes Covid-19.
The discovery was made by scientists at Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences in Taian, China.
They said RpYN06 was the closest relative ever found with several individual genes in the Covid-19 sequence.
But, so far it has not been found that the bat-like virus that looks like Covid-19 has the same spike protein as SARS-CoV-2 or not. The spike protein is a structure outside the virus that it uses to bind to human cells.
The team in China looked at the genetics of 411 samples collected from 23 species of bat in China’s Yunnan province during 2019 and 2020. They found there were four viruses related to SARS-CoV-2, including RpYN06.
“There are three other SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses that are almost identical sequentially,” the researcher was quoted as saying The Sun.
The scientist, led by Weifeng Shi, said the SARS-CoV-2 relative circulated in wildlife species over large geographic areas in Southeast Asia and South China.
They say their findings highlight the extraordinary diversity of bat viruses. But, they warn that further surveillance efforts must cover the wider range of wild animals in the region to help trace the virus from animals to humans.
Apart from RmYN02, the researchers also found another corona virus that is closely related to Covid-19 in bats in Eastern Thailand.
The virus is called RacCS203, whose genetic code is 91.5 percent identical to the virus that causes Covid-19. This virus is also a close relative of RmYN02.
However, scientists from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok say the virus is not expected to infect humans. Because, the virus cannot bind to cells in the body.
They currently assume that the virus must change shape or mutate in order to effectively infect other species or humans.
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