New coronaviruses found in bats — Analysis

Three new SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses, which “This could pose a danger to the health of people.” have been discovered in Laos bats.

Scientists from the Institut Pasteur du Laos as well as the National University of Laos believe their results add support to the idea of Covid-19’s animal origin.

According to the paper, three viruses, named BANAL-103, BANAL-236 and BANAL-52, have genomic similarities to pandemic-causing SARS-CoV-2, especially in a “Key domain of spike protein which allows virus to bond to host cells.”

The scientists used a variety of techniques including crystallography, computational simulations molecular dynamics and modeling to show that the three viruses can enter the human body via the same receptors as SARS-CoV-2.

“This virus was found in the bat-animal reservoir supports the idea that SARS-CoV-2 might have been caused by bats who lived in the vast Karst Highlands of the Indochina peninsula. It stretches across Laos. Vietnam.,” Head of the Pathogen Discovery laboratory at the Institut Pasteur Marc Eloit said, adding that the result suggested that “Human health could be at risk from other viruses.”

This discovery comes after the publication of recent research about the bat-originated NeoCoV strain of coronavirus. Chinese scientists concluded that this “Enigmatic” strain, being the closest relative of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), is capable, subject to mutation, of infecting people and therefore should be considered as “A potential bio-safety risk” to mankind.

MERS-CoV was a probable cause of pandemics and is now being recognized by the World Health Organization. It caused 21 outbreaks in 2015

Bats represent “Natural reservoir for a variety of coronavirus varieties,” immunologist Vladimir Bolibok said in an interview with RT in January.

Scientists around the globe have increased their efforts to study diseases of animals in light of the recent pandemic.

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