Deadly Sars virus that swept Hong Kong originated in bats, scientists say
Coronavirus discovery in Chinese species is closest match yet to 2003 outbreak
The possible return of Sars needs to be taken more seriously after two closely related viruses were found in a species of Chinese bat, scientists warned.
Discovery of the coronaviruses in the horseshoe bat by an international research team confirmed bats as the original source of Sars, they said.
The team, led by the Wuhan Institute of Virology, also found that the new bugs could infect humans directly from bats. Sars was assumed to have travelled to humans via civet cats.
"The findings suggest that the virus' transmission pathway from bats to human is much shorter than we have thought," Professor Malik Peiris, chair of virology at the University of Hong Kong, said after reading the research report. "The reemergence of Sars will have to be taken more seriously."
The new bat viruses are much more closely related to the severe acute respiratory syndrome virus that killed hundreds of people 10 years ago than any previously identified bat coronavirus.
The team said in their report, published in Nature on Wednesday, that the current outbreak of the deadly Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus showed this group of viruses remained a key threat.