U.S. scientists have discovered six new coronaviruses in wild bats in Myanmar.

April 14 (Xinhua) -- A team of researchers has discovered six previously unknown new viruses that belong to the same family of coronaviruses that cause a global pandemic, SARS-CoV-2, Newsweek reported.
, a team led by Marc Valitutto has discovered six new viruses in wild bats in Myanmar, according to a study published in the journal PLOS ONE by researchers at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C.,
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the new viruses found in the study appear to be not closely related to SARS, MERS or SARS-CoV-2, according to researchers.
future studies will assess the possibility of cross-species transmission of these coronaviruses to better understand their risks to human health.
scientists detected coronaviruses in 48 samples, identifying seven different viruses, six of which were previously unknown.
and most of the positive identification comes from fecal specimens.
researchers say the results suggest that bat feces may be an important way for coronaviruses to spread to humans and could pose a threat to people collecting feces in Myanmar.
noted that the country has very limited monitoring of active pathogens and that more types of coronaviruses may be detected in the future.
authors point out in their study that the expanding scope of human activity has a potential impact on public health, and that close human contact with wildlife is likely to lead to the spread of the virus across species.
evidence that outbreaks of new infectious diseases (EIDs) are becoming more frequent, with about 40 new infectious diseases detected since the 1970s alone, of which about 60-75 per cent are considered "zoonotics".
at the same time, 70% of zoonotic animals are thought to originate in wild species.
report that the risk of what scientists call "virus spillover" will only increase as the scope of human activity increases.
Myanmar bats new research: Scientists have discovered six new coronaviruses ,DeepTech Deep Tech- Human experts have been looking for coronaviruses since the SARS outbreak, and the bat species in nature has become a key target.
, a study of bats in Myanmar has discovered three new alpha-genus coronaviruses and three new beta-genus coronaviruses.
alpha coronavirus and beta coronavirus have a significant impact on human health, including SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV, which are by far the most serious human infectious diseases, all of which are among the latter.
researchers point out that continued land-use change has brought humans closer to wildlife, which remains an important driver of zoonotic diseases, and justify continued monitoring and vigilance on a large scale, the study published in the journal PLOS ONE.
the project's researchers from the Smithsonian National Institute for Animal Parks and Conservation Biology, the University of California, Davis Institute of Medicine, and have worked in depth with three ministries of the Government of Myanmar, including the Department of Livestock, Agriculture and Irrigation, the Ministry of Health and Sports, and the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection.
between May 2016 and August 2018, the team conducted samples and data collection at three selected locations in Myanmar, with access to the northern part of Yangon, the Paan city area of Karen State, and the ribo town area of Shiku province.
, as land-use changes increase the distance between humans and wildlife and increase human exposure to wildlife through livelihoods, recreation, commerce and religious or cultural activities, these sites are identified as potentially high-risk areas, with two sites featuring cave tours and frequent exposure to bats through bird droppings collection, religious activities and ecotourism activities.
bat samples are collected by trained field personnel.
all bats are captured using special webs, each individual manually performing species identification, morphological assessment and sample collection.
, where possible, collect oral and rectal swabs using asteria polyester head applicator, and also collect samples of bird droppings from the environment consisting of urine and feces from the environment using a plastic tarpaulin.
samples, the researchers captured and sampled a total of 464 bats of at least 11 species of 6 8 genus, and collected and tested a total of 759 samples (464 oral swabs, 140 rectal swabs, 155 fecal excreta samples).
a total of 461 samples (244 oral swabs, 117 rectal swabs and 100 fecal excreta samples) were taken from dry-season samples, and 298 samples were sampled during the rainy season (220 oral swabs, 23 rectal swabs and 55 fecal excreta samples).
results showed that coronaviruses were detected in 48 samples: researchers detected fragments of the coronavirus from an unidentified taphos sp,three Hosfield's leaf-sniffing bats, also known as the hoofbats, and three Asian yellow bats.
, of the 40 positive specimens detected in bat droppings, 36 came from the midhostous, which belongs to the chrysanthemum-headed manta rays, and the other four positive specimens are hosted by chaelyphons.
analyzed a total of 54 sequences, clustered in 7 different coronavirus genotypes.
using established cut-off values and methods, the researchers detected four alpha coronaviruses (predicted CoV-35, 47, 82 and 90) and three beta coronaviruses (predicted CoV-92, 93 and 96).
, alpha coronavirus PREDICT_CoV-35 has previously been known and was found between 2013 and 2017 in Cambodia and Vietnam in high-headed bats (Scotophilus kuhlii), unknown rat ear bats (Myotis) and unspecified host bats.
and the remaining six coronaviruses are new.
PREDICT_CoV-92 appeared the most, and were found in 36 samples of mixed bat excreta belonging to the middle hoof bats. Interestingly
, three coronaviruses were found to be co-infections: PREDICT_CoV-90 was detected by PREDICT_CoV-35, PREDICT_CoV-93 was detected by PREDICT_CoV-96, and PREDICT_CoV-96 was also detected PREDICT_CoV-92.
researchers noted in the discussion that three new alpha coronaviruses, three new beta coronaviruses and a known alpha coronavirus found in bats in Myanmar, but none of the viruses are closely related to SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV or SARS-CoV-2, where bat fecal excretion samples account for the majority of positive samples, suggesting an important route of transmission of coronavirus release in bats.
, there were differences in the coronavirus-positive rates of different bat species, with samples taken from hoof bats accounting for 83 percent of positive rates, and the researchers noted that the coronavirus population may be significantly associated with the bat host classification group at the family level, however, further evidence is needed to clarify the relationship and ecology.
, the limitations of the study point to the relatively small sample of bats in Myanmar, with only several coronaviruses detected in insect-eating bats, suggesting that more coronaviruses may be detected, and it is estimated that bats carry more than 3,200 species of coronaviruses, most of which have not yet been detected, and that it is necessary to continue to monitor coronaviruses, especially in other species and human-wild animals, given the possible public health consequences of the expansion of human activities.
the final location of the study of bats in Myanmar once again emphasizes the balance between human and human species.
statistics, 60-75% of new infectious diseases (EIDs) are made up of zoonotic diseases, of which more than 70% are said to originate from wildlife species, and the viral spillover effect is largely attributable to changes in human activities since the population index increased in the second half of the 20th century.
large-scale land-use changes, such as deforestation and conversion of agricultural land, can change the relationship between hosts and pathogens, increase human exposure to wildlife and their pathogens, and make cross-species transmission events more likely.
for established pathogens, the loss of human-mediated biodiversity often leads to a decrease in the number of suboptimal host species, as well as an increase in the number of hosts capable of evolving or amplification of viruses, which may lead to higher human infection rates. In addition
, the intensification of livestock and poultry production systems leads to an throid of livestock populations, leading to the expansion and spillage of pathogens.
history, human activities can be said to have played an important role in interspecies transmission events.
SARS outbreak, the coronavirus has been found in many bat species around the world, including Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas and Australasia.
growing evidence to support the role of bats in the transmission of viruses, including SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, which pose a significant threat to public health, and the potential of unknown bat-transmitted coronaviruses to cause zoonotic disease is caused by vigilance and ongoing monitoring, so it is necessary to establish high-risk identification and identification mechanisms among humans, livestock and wildlife.
Despite the threat of these infectious diseases, bats are an important part of ecosystems and provide key roles, such as seed transmission, pollination, control of insect populations, including crop pests and vectors, and they are potentially valuable assets for agriculture and smallholder farming.
researchers say public health should advocate preventive measures to protect people from the spread of disease, but at the same time allow human communities and bat species to coexist in a harmonious environment.
Source: DeepTech Deep Tech.