SARS virus originates in wild bats - study
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-09-30 14:42

LOS ANGELES -- Several bat species are natural hosts of coronaviruses closely related to the SARS virus, an international research group reported on Thursday.

Several bat species are natural hosts of coronaviruses closely related to the SARS virus, an international research group reported on Thursday.

In this latest study, researchers from China, Australia,and the United States tested a variety of wild bats from four locations in China for coronaviruses.

They found in wild bats several genetically diverse coronaviruses, one of which very closely resembles the SARS virus. They noted that bats are the original source of the killer virus.

The SARS virus itself is a member of this coronavirus group, researchers said.

The new findings will appear in the September 30 online issue of the journal Science.

Since the SARS outbreak in year 2002-03 that killed about 800 people, scientists have been hunting for the natural reservoir of the SARS virus.

Previous studies have found that palm civets sold at the live animal markets were infected with the SARS virus, but further evidence suggested that these animals were not themselves the original hosts, the researchers said.

Bats are hosts of several other known viruses, including Hendra and Nipah viruses, and they can be infected with many viruses but rarely display clinical symptoms. They're also increasingly presentin food and traditional medicine markets in southern China and elsewhere in Asia.

In this study conducted in 2004, the researchers trapped 408 bats from their native habitat in the Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hubei, and Tianjin. Nine bat species, 6 genera and 3 families were included in the samples.

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