Researchers say they found six new bat-borne coronaviruses.
The viruses are different from the one currently killing people around the world and others that cause severe infections in humans, but they are in the same family, according to Live Science. Researchers announced the findings on Friday after surveying bats in Myanmar from 2016 to 2018 as part of the United States Agency for International Development’s Emerging Pandemic Threats program.
The scientists specifically worked within the USAID program as part of PREDICT, a government-funded initiative focused on identifying infectious diseases in animals that could spread to humans.
Investigators sifted through samples of bat saliva and excrement, known as guano, at locations in Myanmar where humans and bats cross paths. Some of the sampling locations included caves and areas where guano is collected for fertilizer.
“Two of these sites also featured popular cave systems where people were routinely exposed to bats through guano harvesting, religious practices and ecotourism,” the researchers wrote in the study.
Scientists discovered the novel coronaviruses by comparing genetic sequences from the bat samples in Myanmar to genomes of previously known coronaviruses. The viruses were found in three of the 11 bat species that were studied.
“Many coronaviruses may not pose a risk to people, but when we identify these diseases early on in animals, at the source, we have a valuable opportunity to investigate the potential threat,” said Suzan Murray, director of the Smithsonian’s Global Health Program, and co-author of the study.
“Vigilant surveillance, research and education are the best tools we have to prevent pandemics before they occur,” she added.
The coronavirus at the root of the current pandemic, SARS-CoV-2, is thought to have originated with bats at an animal market in Wuhan, China. The World Health Organization notes that it is likely the transmission to humans of SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease named COVID-19, happened through another type of animal.
Worldwide, at least 113,000 people have died from coronavirus-related complications, and more than 1.8 million people have been infected, according to the latest count by Johns Hopkins University.
