Six New Coronaviruses Found in Bats in Myanmar
2020-04-20
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1Researchers have discovered six new coronaviruses in bats while studying how diseases can pass from animals to humans.
2The scientists said the coronaviruses - found in bats in Myanmar - are not closely related to the coronavirus now affecting many parts of the world.
3The research was led by scientists from the Smithsonian's Global Health Program in Washington, D.C.
4The findings were recently reported in a study in the publication PLOS ONE.
5The researchers said the six new coronaviruses have never been discovered anywhere in the world.
6The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that coronaviruses "are a large family of viruses that are common in people and many different species of animals."
7The CDC adds that it is rare for animal coronaviruses to infect people and then spread among the human population.
8However, there have been major disease outbreaks caused by coronaviruses in humans.
9Bats have been linked to some of them.
10The viruses responsible for diseases SARS and MERS were linked to bats.
11The CDC says the new coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, also came from bats.
12Health experts estimate that thousands of coronaviruses are present in bats, with many still undiscovered.
13The Smithsonian team worked with researchers in Myanmar on a project aimed at identifying new diseases that are zoonotic -meaning they can spread from animals to humans.
14The project, called PREDICT, is supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
15Researchers working on the project say zoonotic diseases represent about 75 percent of new diseases affecting humans.
16One of their goals is to study how contact between humans and wildlife can lead to coronavirus infections in people.
17The team centered its research in areas where humans were most likely to come into close contact with local wildlife.
18Among the team members were representatives from Myanmar government agencies.
19The researchers collected 759 samples of saliva and waste from bats in the areas from May 2016 to August 2018.
20After examining the samples, they identified the six new kinds of coronavirus.
21The team also discovered a coronavirus found in other parts of Southeast Asia, but never before in Myanmar.
22Marc Valitutto is a former wildlife veterinarian with the Smithsonian's Global Health Program.
23He was the lead writer of the study.
24He said in a statement that widespread disease outbreaks like COVID-19 should "remind us how closely human health is connected to the health of wildlife and the environment."
25"The goal is to prevent the virus from getting into humans in the first place," Valitutto told Smithsonian Magazine.
26He added that future research will seek to learn more about how coronaviruses behave in animals.
27For example, what permits the viruses to mutate and spread to other species.
28Such research can help reduce the possibility of future pandemics, Valitutto said.
29Suzan Murray is the director of the Smithsonian's Global Health Program.
30She said many coronaviruses do not present risks to humans.
31However, she noted identifying them early on in animals can be an effective way to investigate possible disease threats.
32"Vigilant surveillance, research and education are the best tools we have to prevent pandemics before they occur," Murray said.
33I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Researchers have discovered six new coronaviruses in bats while studying how diseases can pass from animals to humans. 2The scientists said the coronaviruses - found in bats in Myanmar - are not closely related to the coronavirus now affecting many parts of the world. 3The research was led by scientists from the Smithsonian's Global Health Program in Washington, D.C. The findings were recently reported in a study in the publication PLOS ONE. 4The researchers said the six new coronaviruses have never been discovered anywhere in the world. 5The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that coronaviruses "are a large family of viruses that are common in people and many different species of animals." The CDC adds that it is rare for animal coronaviruses to infect people and then spread among the human population. 6However, there have been major disease outbreaks caused by coronaviruses in humans. Bats have been linked to some of them. The viruses responsible for diseases SARS and MERS were linked to bats. The CDC says the new coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, also came from bats. 7Health experts estimate that thousands of coronaviruses are present in bats, with many still undiscovered. 8The Smithsonian team worked with researchers in Myanmar on a project aimed at identifying new diseases that are zoonotic -meaning they can spread from animals to humans. The project, called PREDICT, is supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). 9Researchers working on the project say zoonotic diseases represent about 75 percent of new diseases affecting humans. One of their goals is to study how contact between humans and wildlife can lead to coronavirus infections in people. 10The team centered its research in areas where humans were most likely to come into close contact with local wildlife. Among the team members were representatives from Myanmar government agencies. 11The researchers collected 759 samples of saliva and waste from bats in the areas from May 2016 to August 2018. After examining the samples, they identified the six new kinds of coronavirus. The team also discovered a coronavirus found in other parts of Southeast Asia, but never before in Myanmar. 12Marc Valitutto is a former wildlife veterinarian with the Smithsonian's Global Health Program. He was the lead writer of the study. He said in a statement that widespread disease outbreaks like COVID-19 should "remind us how closely human health is connected to the health of wildlife and the environment." 13"The goal is to prevent the virus from getting into humans in the first place," Valitutto told Smithsonian Magazine. 14He added that future research will seek to learn more about how coronaviruses behave in animals. For example, what permits the viruses to mutate and spread to other species. Such research can help reduce the possibility of future pandemics, Valitutto said. 15Suzan Murray is the director of the Smithsonian's Global Health Program. She said many coronaviruses do not present risks to humans. However, she noted identifying them early on in animals can be an effective way to investigate possible disease threats. "Vigilant surveillance, research and education are the best tools we have to prevent pandemics before they occur," Murray said. 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from the Smithsonian's Global Health Program, PLOS ONE and the CDC. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 18We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 19________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21species - n. a set of plants or animals in which the members have similar characteristics to each other 22outbreak - n. the sudden appearance of a contagious illness 23sample - n. a small amount of a substance collected by a scientist or doctor 24veterinarian - n. someone whose job is to give medical care to animals that are sick or hurt 25mutate - v. biology : to cause (a gene) to change and create an unusual characteristic in a plant or animal 26pandemic - n. the spread of an infectious disease over a large area in a short period of time 27vigilant - adj. watching something carefully and always being ready to notice anything unusual or dangerous 28surveillance - n. the activity of watching people carefully, often secretly, especially by an army or police force