The pangolin, a small mammal in danger of extinction and one of the most smuggled animals in the world, may have been the transmitter of the new coronavirus, which has already killed 636 people in China, Chinese scientists said on Friday.
Researchers from South China University of Agriculture identified the pangolin as the “possible intermediate host” that facilitated the transmission of the virus, the university said in a statement, without giving further details.
An animal that harbors a virus without getting sick, but that can infect other species, is called a “reservoir”.
In the case of the new coronavirus, most analysts point to bat with primary source: according to a recent study, the genomes of the new coronavirus are 96% the same as those circulating in the organism of that animal.
Viruses detected in pangolins are 99% identical to those found in human patients
The pangolin could have served as an “intermediate host” between the bat and humans, according to the new study, cited by the Chinese state press.
THE same research, which tested more than 1000 samples of wild animals, concluded that the viruses detected in pangolins are 99% identical to those found in human patients.
The new virus was initially detected last December at a seafood and wildlife market in the suburb of Wuhan, in central China.
The initial hypothesis that the intermediary was the snake was, however, dismissed.
The pangolin is the most smuggled mammal in the world
During the epidemic of atypical pneumonia, also caused by a coronavirus, which paralyzed China between 2002 and 2003, the intermediary was the civet, a small mammal whose meat is appreciated in China.
As part of measures to contain the recent epidemic, China announced, in late January, the temporary closure of wildlife markets, indefinitely banning the creation, transportation or sale of all species of wildlife.
The pangolin is the most smuggled mammal in the world, with about a million specimens captured in the past 10 years, in the forests of Asia and Africa. Illegal hunting is spurred by increased demand for their meat and body parts.
The pangolin, which has a longer tongue than its body and feeds on ants and termites, it has been protected since September 2016 by the International Convention on Trade in Endangered Species, to which China is a signatory.
In some regions of China and Vietnam, the use of pangolin meat is popular with young mothers, for its alleged beneficial effects on breast milk, while its scales are used in traditional pharmacopoeia.
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