Six previously undescribed strains of coronaviruses have been detected in Myanmar bat populations . Though it is ill-defined whether the new pains are capable of jumping between coinage or infect humans , research worker note that the virus are not closely related to coronaviruses that cause Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ( SARS ) , Middle East Respiratory Syndrome ( MERS ) , or COVID-19 .
The findings suggest that it is likely there are thousands of coronaviruses present in bats – many of which have not yet been discover , concord to thePLOS One .
An international team of scientists operating under thePREDICTProject , a US - let endeavour to find and discover unexampled computer virus that have the potential to become a pandemic , discovered the virus strains in Linno Cave . Bats , in special , have a unequaled lifestyle that makes them a natural artificial lake of viruses of public business organization .
From May 2016 to August 2018 , researchers identified various chiropteran species and collected more than 750 saliva and faecal samples to try out them for zoonotic diseases and virus . The sampling were then compared against sample from masses and livestock near the cave , as well as to other known coronaviruses . Thedataidentified six new strains of coronaviruses , in particular , three new alphacoronaviruses , three new betacoronaviruses , and one previously identify alphacoronavirus that was retrieve for the first time in Myanmar .
“ Many coronaviruses may not personate a jeopardy to people , but when we identify these disease early on on in beast , at the source , we have a worthful opportunity to investigate the potential menace , ” said Suzan Murray , director of the Smithsonian ’s Global Health Program and co - author of the study , in astatement . “ open-eyed surveillance , research and educational activity are the proficient tools we have to prevent pandemics before they occur . ”
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses , some of which can cause illness in animals and very few that can jump between metal money , as was the fount with SARS - CoV-2 , the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 respiratory disease . Coronaviruses are part of the many virus strains globally that are under biosurveillance so as to determine what egress diseases have a higher likelihood of impact human wellness and financial stability . As many as three - quarters of infectious diseases are zoonotic , think of they can be transmitted from fauna to humanity , and pose an increasing threat as growing human population more oft interact with wildlife . bat are of particular interest given their ability to flee for prolonged periods of time and locomote dandy distance .
" Viral pandemics remind us how tight human wellness is connected to the health of wildlife and the environment , " said Marc Valitutto , a former wildlife veterinarian with the Smithsonian ’s Global Health Program and lead source of the study , in astatement . " Worldwide , humankind are interacting with wildlife with increasing frequency , so the more we translate about these virus in animate being – what allows them to mutate and how they diffuse to other species – the better we can shrink their pandemic potential . "
The finding provide perceptiveness that could help guide policy on ways to abridge disease transmission to keep both at-bat and humanity safe . Future studies will fix the potential for transmission across species to empathize the broad risks to human health .
