Chinese scientists have claimed that they have discovered a new batch of coronaviruses in bats, including one that may be the second closest to the Sars-CoV-2. "In total, we assembled 24 novel coronavirus genomes from different bat species, including four SARS-CoV-2 like coronaviruses," the research was published in the journal Cell. Scientists found that one strain of the virus discovered in the bat species Rhinolophus pusillus had a striking resemblance to SARS-CoV-2, although there were differences in spike proteins. For instance, the SARS virus that caused an outbreak in 2002-2004 was tracked to an animal called a civet cat. However, bats are well-known reservoir hosts for a variety of viruses that cause severe diseases in humans such as the Ebola virus and, most notably, coronaviruses.

Source: Mint June 12, 2021 15:22 UTC