BEIJING: Scientists in China have identified a new wild coronavirus in bats, dubbed TyRo-CoV-162275, possessing a furin cleavage site, a key element found in COVID-19. This discovery aims to dispel speculations surrounding the lab creation of Sars-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.
The furin cleavage site has been a point of contention, with some experts suggesting that it could only result from laboratory experiments. TyRo-CoV-162275 is up to 98% identical to coronaviruses detected in pangolins, animals long suspected of being an intermediary in transmitting COVID-19 to humans.
Despite the new virus being criticized for supporting the “lab leak theory,” scientists argue that wild coronaviruses can naturally acquire such structures. The discovery underscores the idea that COVID-19-like viruses emerge in the wild and transfer between species.
Dr. Kristian Andersen, a prominent Danish infectious disease expert, shared the study on social media, stating, “The science on this will only get stronger with time.” Dr. Andersen, who previously acknowledged a high likelihood of a lab leak, publicly condemned the theory but was summoned before Congress in July.
Debate Over the Origin of COVID-19
The origin of COVID-19 remains a topic of debate, with two main camps. Some scientists, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Energy, believe it may have escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). On the other hand, figures like former White House doctor Anthony Fauci assert that the virus originated in bats, passed to pangolins, and then to humans.
A study conducted between 2016 and 2017 in China, spanning the Yunnan and Guangdong provinces, 994 and 620 miles away from Wuhan, identified nine bat species carrying 58 bat coronaviruses. Two of these viruses, TyRo-CoV-162275 and TyRo-CoV-162269, were found in a greater bamboo bat.
TyRo-CoV-162275 is linked to bat MERS-like coronaviruses present in pangolins, suggesting a potential intermediary role in transmitting the virus to humans. The second virus closely relates to another type of bat coronavirus.
Researchers are urging transparency from China, especially regarding illnesses reminiscent of the early COVID-19 outbreak, as conspiracy theories continue to circulate around the pandemic’s origins. The findings have been published in the journal Virologica Sinica, overseen by Shi Zhengli, also known as the ‘Bat Lady’ or ‘Bat Woman.’ S
