A single animal source may be responsible for the outbreak of Wuhan coronavirus causing havoc in China, according to a new scientific analysis.
Scientists say the virus is closely related to two SARS-like viruses found in bats.
Reporting in The Lancet, they said the virus is not the same as SARS but uses the same molecular doorway to enter human cells, the ACE2 receptor.
They have found hardly any genetic diversity in samples taken from ten patients in Wuhan, suggesting a "very recent" transmission of the virus to humans.
The latest research does not specify that the infectious animal was a snake – as a previous analysis did – but says that bats, which were not found in the Wuhan animal markets, must have infected another animal.
Researcher Professor Weifeng Shi, of Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, China, said: “It is striking that the sequences of 2019-nCoV described here from different patients were almost identical. This finding suggests that 2019-nCoV originated from one source within a very short period and was detected relatively rapidly.
"However, as the virus transmits to more individuals, constant surveillance of mutations arising is needed."
Professor Guizhen Wu, of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, added: “These data are consistent with a bat reservoir for coronaviruses in general and 2019-nCoV in particular. However, despite the importance of bats, it seems likely that another animal host is acting as an intermediate host between bats and humans."
A second study, reported by the Lancet, examines 99 patients treated in Chinese hospitals. Some 11 died of multiple organ failure and 57 are still in hospital.
74 patients were infected in both lungs and 82 had ever while 81 had cough. Some 31 experienced shortness of breath. Coinfections were found in critically ill patients.
Lancet 29 January 2020
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30251-8/fulltext
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30183-5/fulltext
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