Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
MERS Virus Again Linked To Bats
The point of origin for the MERS virus continues to baffle scientists. New evidence once again suggests that the deadly virus is linked to bats.
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is one of the latest problem viruses to have emerged this decade. MERS-CoV is the sixth new type of coronavirus like SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome). Coronaviruses are so called because they have crown-like projections on their surfaces. “Corona” in Latin means “crown” or “halo.” Symptoms of MERS-CoV infection include renal failure and severe acute pneumonia, which often result in a fatal outcome.
As Digital Journal has previously featured, the source of the MERS virus, a flu like condition that has been responsible for multiple deaths worldwide, continues to mystify scientists.
Back in August, a fragment of genetic viral material isolated from an Egyptian tomb bat matches viral material isolated from the first human victim of the novel coronavirus. This leads scientists to suggest a link between the virus and bats.
However, then came reports that MERS might be connected to camels, and another to animals sold in street markets.
Now the yo-yo of contradictory evidence points the finger of suspicion back towards bats. This is according to a study published in in Virology Journal. The paper is titled “Adaptive evolution of bat dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (dpp4): implications for the origin and emergence of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus.”
Jie Cui, the lead author of the paper and an evolutionary virologist at the University of Sydney in Australia, has told The Scientist that: “Our analysis suggests that an evolutionary lineage leading to the current MERS-CoV co-evolved with bat hosts for an extended time period, eventually jumping species boundaries to infect humans, perhaps through an intermediate host.”
It is likely that further studies will emerge which will support or oppose the latest association between MERS and bats.
Discover more from
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
