- New coronavirus strains have been identified in pangolins smuggled into China, researchers report in Nature.
- The smuggled animals, called pangolins, may have helped to pass the novel coronavirus to humans, though additional evidence will be needed to determine that.
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New versions of coronavirus have been identified in illegal shipments of pangolins heading to China. Pangolins, which are small mammals similar to anteaters, are often smuggled into China and have been known to carry strains of coronavirus. At present, it remains unclear where the novel coronavirus originated, but identifying new strains could help scientists trace its lineage.
The coronavirus pandemic engulfing the planet right now is far from the first coronavirus identified by scientists. We’ve known about coronaviruses for some time, but most of them don’t produce serious symptoms and are generally not a major threat. That changed with SARS, which proved to be a much more dangerous variant.
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Scientists identify new coronaviruses in animals smuggled into China originally appeared on BGR.com on Sat, 28 Mar 2020 at 11:23:21 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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