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Top scientists warn about the risks of bat coronaviruses causing human disease

Top scientists warn about the risks of bat coronaviruses causing human disease

On Jul. 22, 2020, an article co-written by 10 outstanding scientists, some of whom are from the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, concludes that the risks of bat coronaviruses causing human disease have been overlooked for years, though we’ve already paid for the ignorance.

Although the origin of novel coronavirus is not defined yet, scientists believe the virus has passed into humans from some kind of animals, very likely bats, perhaps through an intermediary animal with the exact pathway unknown, which disproves the conspiracy theory from the White House insisting the virus comes from some laboratory without providing any evidence.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States topped 4,487,987 as of Friday, claiming more than 151,800 of lives, according to the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

Confronting such a severe situation, the White House chose not to work with scientists and researchers. Instead, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), according to South China Morning Post, in April abruptly terminated active grant funding for a project monitoring bat coronaviruses in China run by respected New York-based non-profit group EcoHealth Alliance, saying the project did not align with programme goals. Later in the last month, Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, confirmed in an interview that this confusing movement of cutting the research funding had actually “come from the White House”.

In addition to calling for a reasonable funding, the article published on last Wednesday also emphasizes that a better understanding of the natural emergence of the COVID-19 in humans is urgently needed.

Noting that the novel coronavirus is the third fatal coronavirus to pass into humans in two decades, apart from the former two viruses that cause Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars), scientists call for more sense of urgency in the research on bat viruses to avoid the next pandemic.

You may find more information at https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3094447/coronavirus-top-scientists-push-quantum-leap-bat-virus-research.

[ Editor: ZY ]