A coronavirus related to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has been discovered in horseshoe bats in the UK, reports SciTechDaily.
The discovery was made by a team of researchers from the University of East England (UEA), the London Zoological Society (ZSL) and Public Health England (PHE).
However, scientists have not found evidence that this new virus has been transmitted to humans or that this could happen if it does not mutate.
UEA researchers have collection faecal samples from over 50 small horseshoe bats from Sommerset, Gloucestershire and Wales and sent them to Public Health England for analysis.
Genetic sequencing of samples revealed a new coronavirus in bats that researchers called “RhGB01”.
This is the first sarbecovirus (SARS-CoV) – a species of coronavirus related to SARS-CoV-2 – discovered in small horseshoe bats and first discovered in the UK.
The team claims that the bats have almost certainly carried the virus for a very long time and that it has not been discovered so far because no tests have been done in the UK.
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