“Arguments and facts” Weekly n°8. Homeland defense first 23/02/2022
A new type of coronavirus has been discovered in bats in Laos. Why did these mice become the main source of infection? Are ours as dangerous as the Asians?
Three new coronaviruses have been discovered while studying a population of bats living in caves in northern Laos. This was reported by the journal Nature. Scientists suggest that these viruses – relatives of SARS-CoV-2 that can enter human cells.
“Bats – the second largest group after rodents and, therefore, in terms of the number of parasites that feed on them. From them we have regularly been infected with something, – explain at. Mr. not. Maria Orlova, the only Russian scientist who studies parasites living on bats. – The coronavirus family was originally associated with bats, all other hosts are secondary. But it is not bats that live with us (ours are not yet dangerous), but fruit bats – gigantic animals whose wingspan reaches one meter. Being frugivorous, they also feed on dates. Their feces, urine and saliva remain on the fruit which ends up on the human table, in pet food. This is how the Hendra (with lethality in humans up to 60%) and Nipah (with lethality up to 75%) viruses were transmitted. Theoretically, anything can be expected from bats.
