[vc_row][vc_column][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]
SARS-CoV-2
The causative agent of COVID-19 remains largely a mystery to this day. However, a study published in the journal Nature Microbiology suggests that SARS-CoV-2 is genetically different from other coronaviruses that have been found in bats over the past 70 years.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]And besides, there is reason to believe that many representatives of this vast family have simply not yet been identified and can cause new epidemics that threaten the existence of all mankind.
Co-author Maciek Boni, a biologist at the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics at the University of Pennsylvania, noted that coronaviruses in bats in China are likely to be susceptible to dangerous mutations.
Thus, they will turn out to be more similar to SARS-CoV-2 than the already known ones, and, therefore, it will be easier to fight them if in the near future vaccines and drugs are developed that affect the culprit of the current epidemic.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]JTNDc2NyaXB0JTIwYXN5bmMlMjBzcmMlM0QlMjJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnBhZ2VhZDIuZ29vZ2xlc3luZGljYXRpb24uY29tJTJGcGFnZWFkJTJGanMlMkZhZHNieWdvb2dsZS5qcyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRnNjcmlwdCUzRSUwQSUzQyUyMS0tJTIwYWRhcHQlMjBuZXclMjAtLSUzRSUwQSUzQ2lucyUyMGNsYXNzJTNEJTIyYWRzYnlnb29nbGUlMjIlMEElMjAlMjAlMjAlMjAlMjBzdHlsZSUzRCUyMmRpc3BsYXklM0FibG9jayUyMiUwQSUyMCUyMCUyMCUyMCUyMGRhdGEtYWQtY2xpZW50JTNEJTIyY2EtcHViLTUxMTM4MjY4ODUwODg1MzglMjIlMEElMjAlMjAlMjAlMjAlMjBkYXRhLWFkLXNsb3QlM0QlMjIzMTMxMTczMjk4JTIyJTBBJTIwJTIwJTIwJTIwJTIwZGF0YS1hZC1mb3JtYXQlM0QlMjJhdXRvJTIyJTBBJTIwJTIwJTIwJTIwJTIwZGF0YS1mdWxsLXdpZHRoLXJlc3BvbnNpdmUlM0QlMjJ0cnVlJTIyJTNFJTNDJTJGaW5zJTNFJTBBJTNDc2NyaXB0JTNFJTBBJTIwJTIwJTIwJTIwJTIwJTI4YWRzYnlnb29nbGUlMjAlM0QlMjB3aW5kb3cuYWRzYnlnb29nbGUlMjAlN0MlN0MlMjAlNUIlNUQlMjkucHVzaCUyOCU3QiU3RCUyOSUzQiUwQSUzQyUyRnNjcmlwdCUzRQ==[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]This task is of particular relevance, since it is not known when an infection, hitherto transmitted only among animals, can become dangerous to humans. The scientists also noted that bats are the main carriers of SARS-CoV-2 and similar strains, while their direct transmission from pangolins, which also have them, seems less likely.
SARS-CoV-2 is a sarbekovirus, a member of the coronavirus subgenus, which also includes SARS, which causes severe acute respiratory syndrome, or atypical pneumonia. And its closest “relative” is the RaTG13 strain, detected in 2013 in horseshoe bats, a subspecies of bats from the Chinese province of Yunnan.
The genome of these viruses coincides by about 96%, that is, the difference between them is less than, for example, between Homo sapiens and orangutans.
The danger of SARS-CoV-2 for humans is that it attaches to the ACE-2 receptor in the cells of the lower respiratory tract with the help of a special “spike” protein. Thus, it infects the entire cell and spreads further throughout the body.
As Boni warned, it is unlikely that it will be possible to identify the “zero patient” from which the epidemic began, although, according to available data, the first person was infected with the coronavirus in November 2019, and the carrier was a bat.
And the scientist urged to determine as accurately as possible the area where this could happen, in order to deploy there large-scale testing of winged mammals, which will reveal hitherto unknown strains.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]In addition, it is necessary to create an international system for monitoring both the populations of bats and people who can be infected from them.
But while the solution to this problem is hampered by the lack of reliable data of a medical and biological nature, not to mention the scale, tens of thousands of animals will have to be tested.
“But the sooner the samples are taken and studied, the better it will be possible to establish exactly how the virus is transmitted,” Maciek Boni said. “This is a task that the authorities of one country will not be able to cope with – we need common coordinated efforts.”[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]See also: UFC head names Miocic-Cormier trilogy winner as best heavyweight of all time
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
