Scientists noted that bats in Thailand have discovered a new coronavirus that matches what causes COVID-19.
According to a study published Tuesday in Nature Communications, the newly identified virus known as RacCS203 was found in the blood of five horseshoe bats kept in an artificial cave in a wildlife sanctuary in eastern Thailand.
Researchers led by Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University performed genomic sequencing of the new virus.
The research determined that it shares 91.5 percent of the Sars-CoV-2 genetic code, which is the virus that causes COVID-19.
It is also very similar to another coronavirus known as RmYN02, which is found in bats in Yunnan, China, researchers said.
But the researchers said the new virus has differences in its ear protein, making it impossible for it to infect human cells.
However, the antibodies in the blood of infected bats and other pangolins were able to neutralize the Sars-CoV-2 virus.
The researchers said the discovery of infected bats indicates that coronaviruses are more widespread in animals across Asia than was previously known, and studying more creatures may uncover the origins of the pandemic.
“We need to do more animal surveillance,” University of Singapore professor Lin-Fa Wang told the BBC. “To find the true origin, surveillance work must go beyond the Chinese border.”