The virus that causes COVID-19 has been silently brewing in bats for decades
The viral lineage leading to the novel coronavirus—SARS-CoV-2—might have been “circulating unnoticed in bats for decades.” (Pixabay/)Scientists have been searching for the origins of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) since the pandemic began. Early reports suggested the novel virus originated in bats before making a jump to an intermediate mammal (potentially the pangolin) and then to humans. While researchers have yet to pin down with certainty the exact trajectory the virus took to get to us, they surmise it likely originated in bats and did not *need* to pass through an intermediary species to get to us. Now, a study published yesterday in Nature Microbiology suggests the viral lineage leading to the novel coronavirus—SARS-CoV-2—might have been “circulating unnoticed in bats for decades.” If true, the study hints at the critical need for better monitoring of human-animal interfaces where zoonotic disease can spread. “The purpose of this analysis is to see...