Covid-19: Did it already exist 10 years ago?

Animals captured during this period in Cambodian caves were maintained at a temperature of -80 ° and were recently tested via a PCR dedicated to Covid-19, by the researchers. The result of the screening? Positive! After sequencing the virus and comparing it to SARS-CoV-2, scientists from the Pasteur Institute realized that it was not exactly the same but that the composition of the two viruses approached 92.9%.

An antecedent of the virus that would allow collective immunity in South East Asia?

What is interesting is that the virus has been around for so long without having been transmitted to humans … The researchers hypothesis is that the virus was found in two distinct bat species in China. and in South East Asia. Bats would not have transmitted it to humans, but via the pangolins with whom they coexist in the caves. The Transmission of the virus would then have been facilitated by pangolin farms in China.

On the other hand, scientists note that this discovery could explain that certain places in South East Asia are relatively less impacted by Covid-19. The study explains that in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam the contaminations are less intense. They believe that this virus-like virus, which has been around for so long, could have provided them with some herd immunity.

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