VIENTIANE, Sept 18 (Bloomberg): Bats dwelling in limestone caves in northern Laos were found to carry coronaviruses that share a key feature with SARS-CoV-2, moving scientists closer to pinpointing the cause of Covid-19.Researchers at France’s Pasteur Institute and the University of Laos looked for viruses similar to the one that causes Covid among hundreds of horseshoe bats. The BANAL-236 virus has an almost identical receptor binding domain to the pandemic virus, according to the paper. It’s a feature of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that has led some scientists to theorize that it was created in a laboratory.No evidence supporting the lab-leak theory has emerged. The bats live in the limestone karstic terrain common to China, Laos, and Vietnam in the Indochina peninsula.The paper highlights the diversity of SARS-CoV-2-like viruses present in bats in Southeast Asia, Holmes said. "This study emphasizes that bat coronaviruses that have the potential to infect humans readily exist in nature and could emerge any point.

Source: The Star September 18, 2021 12:45 UTC