Bats carrying coronaviruses closely related to the one that causes Covid-19 found outside China
The three Rhinolophus species of horseshoe bats that have so far been shown to be carriers of coronaviruses linked to Sars-CoV-2 cannot be found in Singapore. Photo: AFP
The Straits Times, Singapore
The Straits Times, Singapore
Horseshoe bats carrying coronaviruses very similar to the one that causes Covid-19 have been found outside China, so the pandemic may not necessarily have originated in the country, say scientists in a new study.
It is likely that the virus arrived at the Chinese city of Wuhan from elsewhere, said Professor Wang Linfa from the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore and one of the study's co-authors.