After the outbreak of the Wuhan Corona virus in various parts of the world, scientists suggest that a kind of snake may be the original source of the virus. However, experts in infectious diseases say that bats are the source of infection.
"When you look at the genetic sequence of the virus and match it with other known corona viruses, their quality is closer to that of bats," said Peter Daszak, head of the non-profit EcoHealth Alliance, a health and environmental organization.
Professor Guizhen Wu, of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a study published by the medical journal The Lancet on Wednesday that the data they have so far is consistent with the theory that the virus originated in bats from the start.
Winged mammals are the repository of several different deadly viruses such as Marburg and Nepah that have caused outbreaks in Uganda, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Australia. Bats are believed to be the natural hosts of Ebola, rabies, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Corona virus associated with respiratory syndrome in the Middle East.
Many times, there is a mediator involved, as was the case with SARS in 2003, and the Corona virus associated with respiratory syndrome in the Middle East, which later appeared and was found in camels.
Scientists call these viruses an animal of origin because they are transmitted from animals to humans.
In the case of the Nipah virus, which can cause a range of symptoms including killer encephalitis, the infection was traced back to the juice made from the date palm tree juice, which was contaminated with bat urine or saliva. Bats were roaming around trees as locals put taps to collect the delicious sap.
The fact that this new coronavirus is associated with bats "is not surprising for virologists working in the bat-transmitted viruses. Bats are known as a" reservoir of viruses, "said Dr. Stathis Gyutis, a virologist at the Department of Infectious Diseases at Imperial College in London. Animal origin. "
It is possible that the Chinese horseshoe bat, a type of bat commonly found in China, is responsible for the spread of the new corona virus, Jyotis said.
How do bats carry viruses and spread them?
Bats, which contain more than one thousand and 300 species, are second only to rodents in the diversity of mammals. Bats live on all continents except Antarctica. Compared to terrestrial animals, their shelf life is long, and they are filled with millions in caves, which means they may come into contact with more viruses, and pass easily between them.
While it is known that bats carry many prominent viruses, they do not appear to be suffering from them, except for rabies.
One theory assumes that flight has allowed bats to develop mechanisms that protect them from viruses. Flying raises the metabolism of bats and body temperature, similar to the fever that affects humans and other mammals, and scientists say this, on an evolutionary scale, can boost the bat's immune system and make it more tolerant to viruses.
Jyotis noted that the current hypothesis among scientists is that "the bat's immune system has adapted over centuries of development because of its ability to fly."
Scientists have found some promising strands in the bat's genetic makeup to support this hypothesis.
"The basic antiviral immune components are preserved in bats, but some genes that activate infections or anti-virus defense mechanisms are either missing or have changed their functions," said Jyotis: explaining why there is no typical immune response to viruses.
Of course, bats are not the only animals that transmit diseases to humans. The plague was transmitted by rodents, and HIV spread due to the chimpanzee.
Did the bat spread the new Corona virus?
Scientists in China have continued to study bats, given that it has long been believed to be the starting point for the next epidemic.
Dasac said that scientists have found about 50 types of coronavirus associated with SARS in bats across China, and found in people living in southwestern Yunnan Province, near the caves, where the virus was found in bats, although they did not show any symptoms Respiratory diseases during sampling.
"When you look at the genetic sequence of the virus and match it with other known corona viruses, their quality is closer to that of bats," said Peter Daszak, head of the non-profit EcoHealth Alliance, a health and environmental organization.
Professor Guizhen Wu, of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a study published by the medical journal The Lancet on Wednesday that the data they have so far is consistent with the theory that the virus originated in bats from the start.
Winged mammals are the repository of several different deadly viruses such as Marburg and Nepah that have caused outbreaks in Uganda, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Australia. Bats are believed to be the natural hosts of Ebola, rabies, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Corona virus associated with respiratory syndrome in the Middle East.
Many times, there is a mediator involved, as was the case with SARS in 2003, and the Corona virus associated with respiratory syndrome in the Middle East, which later appeared and was found in camels.
Scientists call these viruses an animal of origin because they are transmitted from animals to humans.
In the case of the Nipah virus, which can cause a range of symptoms including killer encephalitis, the infection was traced back to the juice made from the date palm tree juice, which was contaminated with bat urine or saliva. Bats were roaming around trees as locals put taps to collect the delicious sap.
The fact that this new coronavirus is associated with bats "is not surprising for virologists working in the bat-transmitted viruses. Bats are known as a" reservoir of viruses, "said Dr. Stathis Gyutis, a virologist at the Department of Infectious Diseases at Imperial College in London. Animal origin. "
It is possible that the Chinese horseshoe bat, a type of bat commonly found in China, is responsible for the spread of the new corona virus, Jyotis said.
How do bats carry viruses and spread them?
Bats, which contain more than one thousand and 300 species, are second only to rodents in the diversity of mammals. Bats live on all continents except Antarctica. Compared to terrestrial animals, their shelf life is long, and they are filled with millions in caves, which means they may come into contact with more viruses, and pass easily between them.
While it is known that bats carry many prominent viruses, they do not appear to be suffering from them, except for rabies.
One theory assumes that flight has allowed bats to develop mechanisms that protect them from viruses. Flying raises the metabolism of bats and body temperature, similar to the fever that affects humans and other mammals, and scientists say this, on an evolutionary scale, can boost the bat's immune system and make it more tolerant to viruses.
Jyotis noted that the current hypothesis among scientists is that "the bat's immune system has adapted over centuries of development because of its ability to fly."
Scientists have found some promising strands in the bat's genetic makeup to support this hypothesis.
"The basic antiviral immune components are preserved in bats, but some genes that activate infections or anti-virus defense mechanisms are either missing or have changed their functions," said Jyotis: explaining why there is no typical immune response to viruses.
Of course, bats are not the only animals that transmit diseases to humans. The plague was transmitted by rodents, and HIV spread due to the chimpanzee.
Did the bat spread the new Corona virus?
Scientists in China have continued to study bats, given that it has long been believed to be the starting point for the next epidemic.
Dasac said that scientists have found about 50 types of coronavirus associated with SARS in bats across China, and found in people living in southwestern Yunnan Province, near the caves, where the virus was found in bats, although they did not show any symptoms Respiratory diseases during sampling.