Among the viruses found in hundreds of bats they tested in Vientiane province, three viruses were found to be very similar to the virus that causes Covid-19, especially in terms of the mechanism that attaches to human cells.
Marc Eloit, head of the Pathogen Discovery Laboratory at the Pasteur Institute, told AFP: “The idea is to try to determine the origin of this epidemic.”
Eloit’s team analyzed the collected samples, and he said that there are still key differences between the virus found and SARS-CoV-2.
But he said that this work is an “important step forward” in determining the origin of the pandemic, confirming that the coronavirus that is spreading around the world may have been Start with live bats.
The authors of the study warned that their results indicate that the new virus “seems to have the same potential to infect humans as the early strain of SARS-CoV-2.”
“People who work in caves, such as guano collectors, or certain ascetic religious groups in or very close to caves, and tourists visiting caves, are particularly vulnerable to exposure,” the author said.
