Finding
could help researchers to better predict where these viruses are likely to make
the jump from animals to people.
Determining
which bats carry viruses that can infect people is tricky.
Bats are the
major animal reservoir for coronaviruses worldwide, according to a survey of
thousands of animals across Africa, Asia and the Americas. The animals had
previously been linked to the coronaviruses that caused outbreaks of severe
acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory virus (MERS), but
until now researchers were not sure whether that was a coincidence or a sign of
a broader trend.
The findings
suggest that researchers who study infectious diseases can improve their
predictions of where coronaviruses are likely to leap from animals to people by
looking at the geographical distribution of different bat species and the
behaviour of the viruses that they carry.
“It’s time
to stop being reactive,” says Simon Anthony, a virologist at Columbia
University in New York City and lead author of the study published today
in Virus Evolution1.
“The point is to take a different approach and be more proactive by
understanding the diversity of viruses out there before they actually emerge.”
The research was funded by the US Agency for International Development through
a programme that aims to preempt pandemics of viruses that pass from animals to
humans.''
Joseph Ana.
Africa Center for Clin Gov Research &
Patient Safety
@ HRI West Africa
Group - HRI WA
Consultants in Clinical
Governance Implementation
Publisher: Health and
Medical Journals
8 Amaku Street Housing
Estate, Calabar
Cross River State, Nigeria
Cross River State, Nigeria
Phone No.
+234 (0) 8063600642
Joseph Ana has a cumulative continuous practice experience of over 40-years in
Nigeria, United Kingdom and Ghana as a Primary Health Care Physician, Public
Health Expert, General and Urological Surgeon, Health Policy Expert and
Implementer, Medical Educator and Trainer..
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