Written By: Longjam Dineshwori | Updated : July 20, 2021 12:01 PM IST
Smithers's horseshoe bat (image: Wikipedia)
Researchers are yet to come to a definitive conclusion regarding the origin of SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes Covid-19. Bats are known to the natural reservoirs of a large variety of viruses. Some researchers believe that the novel coronavirus may have originated in bats or pangolins. However, the lab leak theory is not completely rejected either. Adding weight to the animal-origin theory, UK researchers have now found a coronavirus related to the Covid-19 virus in British horseshoe bats. The new virus has been named 'RhGB01'.
The breakthrough finding is the result of a new collaborative research from the University of East Anglia, ZSL (Zoological Society of London), and Public Health England (PHE). According to them, this is the first time that a sarbecovirus (SARS-related coronavirus) has been found in a lesser horseshoe bat and the first to be discovered in the UK. They are very certain that these bats could have harboured the virus for a very long time but found now only as they have been tested for the first time.
However, they found no evidence that this novel virus has been transmitted to humans, or that it could in future, unless it mutates. This means this novel virus is unlikely to pose a direct risk to humans, unless it mutates. They researchers explained that a mutation could happen if a human infected with Covid-19 passes it to an infected bat. Hence, it is advisable that people whose work requires coming into contact with bats or their droppings wear appropriate PPE in order to reduce the risk of a mutation occurring.
Prof Diana Bell, an expert in emerging zoonotic diseases from UEA's School of Biological Sciences, said that horseshoe bats are found across Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. Horseshoe bat species found in China, South East Asia and Eastern Europe are also known to harbour SARS-like viruses.
The new findings highlight the need for robust genotype testing for these types of viruses in bat populations around the world, as well as stringent regulations globally for anyone handling bats and other wild animals, she added.
While the WHO has already dismissed the Wuhan lab leak theory, China continues to face scrutiny over alleged leak of SARS-CoV2 from its infamous Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). Meanwhile, people in China are demanding a probe on other labs around the world to find out whether the virus was leaked from them.
Netizens in China have signed an open letter to the World Health Organisation (WHO), demanding to investigate the shutdown of the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) at Fort Detrick, Maryland, according to media reports.
The USAMRIID was temporarily shut down in 2019 after a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) inspection, stating "ongoing infrastructure issues with wastewater decontamination," as the reason for the closure.
The open letter, which was posted on WeChat and Weibo platforms on Saturday, garnered half a million signatures within 24 hours. The Fort Detrick lab stores the most deadly and infectious viruses in the world, including Ebola, smallpox, SARS, MERS, and the novel coronavirus the leak of any of these viruses would cause severe danger to the world, it said.
Further, the letter cited that the scandals of anthrax bacterium being stolen from the lab that caused poisoning to many and even death, as well as a leakage incident in the lab in the autumn of 2019 right before the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic. The detailed information of these incidents had been withheld by the US under excuses of national security, the letter said.
