Bats in Thailand have been discovered with a new coronavirus that is closely related to the virus that causes COVID-19, scientists said.
The newly identified virus, known as RacCS203, was found in the blood of five horseshoe bats kept in an artificial cave in a wildlife sanctuary in eastern Thailand, according to a study Tuesday in Nature Communications.
Researchers led by Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok performed genomic sequencing on the new virus.
The research found that it shares 91.5 percent of the genetic code of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
It is also very similar to another coronavirus known as RmYN02, which is found in bats in Yunnan, China, researchers said.
But researchers said the new virus has differences in its spike protein, making it impossible to infect human cells.
However, antibodies in the blood of the infected bats and other pangolins were able to neutralize the Sars-CoV-2 virus.
Researchers said the discovery of the infected bats indicates that coronaviruses are more widespread among animals in Asia than previously known – and studying more creatures could reveal the origins of the pandemic.
“We need to monitor animals more,” Professor Lin-Fa Wang of the University of Singapore told the BBC. “To find its true origin, the surveillance work must go beyond the border of China.”