The findings, published today in PLOS ONE, will help understand the diversity of coronaviruses in bats and inform global efforts to detect, prevent and respond to infectious diseases that may threaten public health, particularly in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“Viral pandemics remind us how closely human health is connected to the health of wildlife and the environment,” said Marc Valitutto, former wildlife veterinarian with the Smithsonian’s Global Health Program and lead author of the study. “Worldwide, humans are interacting with wildlife with increasing frequency, so the more we understand about these viruses in animals — what allows them to mutate and how they spread to other species — the better we can reduce their pandemic potential.”
Researchers detected these new viruses while conducting biosurveillance of animals and people to better understand the circumstances for disease spillover as part of the PREDICT project. PREDICT, an initiative funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), supports the global discovery and surveillance of pathogens that have the potential to spread from animals to humans. The PREDICT team in Myanmar consists of scientists from the Smithsonian; the University of California, Davis; Myanmar’s Ministry of
— source Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute | Apr 9, 2020