As the entire world is fighting against the deadly coronavirus, twenty-five bats of two species- Rousettus and Pteropus from Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu were found positive for coronavirus(BtCoV )according to a first of its study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
As reported by PTI, according to the study published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research, there is no evidence or research to claim that these bat coronaviruses can cause disease in humans, said Dr Pragya D Yadav, Scientist at the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune and also the first author of the study.
“These bat coronaviruses have no relation with SARS-CoV2 responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic,” Yadav said and also added that Pteropus bat species were earlier found positive for Nipah virus in 2018 and 2019 in Kerala.
“Bats are considered to be the natural reservoir for many viruses, of which some are potential human pathogens. In India, an association of Pteropus medius bats with the Nipah virus was reported in the past. It is suspected that the recently emerged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) also has its association with bats,” the objective of the study titled ‘Detection of coronaviruses in Pteropus and Rousettus species of bats from different states of India’ stated.
The study said, “In the present scenario of changing demography and ecological manipulations, it is challenging to have checks on the encounters of bats with other animals and humans.”
“Although CoVs in the subfamily coronavirinae do not usually produce clinical symptoms in their natural hosts (bats), the accidental transmission of these viruses to humans and other animals may result in respiratory, enteric, hepatic or neurologic diseases of variable severity. It is still not understood as to why only certain CoVs can infect people,” the study further stated.
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