Laos finds a virus similar to Covid-19 from northern bats
On September 20, 2021 at 11:30 a.m.
Found evidence to support the hypothesis that COVID-19 Probably not from the lab But it started with the spread of the bat-borne virus.
Bloomberg reported that researchers from France’s Pasteur Institute together with the University of Laos. A virus that shares a key feature with SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 has been detected. from a herd of horseshoe bats Hundreds of Rhinolophus live in limestone caves in northern Laos.
The research, which is pending publication in the journal Nature, shows that viruses very similar to SARS-CoV-2 exist in nature. including in horseshoe bats which supports the hypothesis that the COVID-19 epidemic It started with the spread of the bat-borne virus.
Southern China and Southeast Asia are densely populated regions with horseshoe bats.
The study’s co-author, Marc Eloit, of the Pasteur Institute, said: There are three types of viruses found in Laos, BANAL-52, BANAL-103 and BANAL-236, which are the closest to SARS-CoV-2, and these viruses may have contributed to the pre-infection of SARS-CoV-2. said to spread to humans
The research team looked at 645 bats from 46 species caught in four areas from Vientiane and Udomxay provinces. 275 blood samples, 608 saliva samples, 539 feces and 157 urine samples were collected during July. 2020 to Jan 2021
Several studies have previously indicated that SARS-CoV-2-like viruses have also been found in bats, including RhGB01 virus from UK horseshoe bats, RacCS203 virus from Thailand horseshoe bats, RmYN02 and RaTG13 viruses found in bats. from Yunnan, China
Last month, US intelligence agencies ruled out the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 being developed by China as a biological weapon. Because there is no evidence to support the leak theory in the laboratory. But there is still no consensus about its origins.
Photo by REUTERS/Cindy Liu
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