Chinese scientists report in two articles published in the journal “Nature” on Monday that the genome sequences of several patients in Wuhan showed that the novel coronavirus is closely related to viruses that trigger Sars’ lung disease.
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In one of the studies, Shi Zhen Li and colleagues from the Wuhan Institute of Virology reported that genome sequences from seven patients were 96 percent identical to a bat coronavirus. Sars is also said to have its origins in bats, although the virus first spread to civet cats before it infected people in the 2002/2003 outbreak.
For the first time, the new corona virus broke out at a fish market in Wuhan City, according to scientists. Wild animals were also sold there. So far it has not been determined which animal species became the carrier.
Sars and new coronavirus use the same receptor
“Essentially, it’s a version of Sars that spreads more easily but does less harm,” said Ian Jones, professor of virology at Reading University in England. “The virus also uses the same receptor – the gate to get into human cells, which explains the transmission and why it causes pneumonia,” he said.
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