A study published yesterday by The Lancet suggests that bats are the most likely source of the coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China in late December, 2019.
Referring to the coronavirus as 2019-nCoV, the study explains that the “currently available data suggest that 2019-nCoV infected the human population from a bat reservoir, although it remains unclear if a currently unknown animal species acted as an intermediate host between bats and humans.”
Despite this new connection between bats and the virus, the study does say that no bats were sold at the Huanan seafood market, where the virus first originated, suggesting the possibility of another animal carrying the disease from bat to human.
The coronavirus has currently taken the lives of 170 people, and has now spread to every region of China. The World Health Organisation have reported that “there are now 7711 confirmed and 12167 suspected cases throughout the country.”
In addition to this, the virus has now been reported in Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and the USA.
In response to this outbreak, China have been working to build entirely new hospitals specifically for patients with the coronavirus. One hospital, in Huanggang City, was opened within 48 hours and will be able to provide treatment for around 1,000 patients.
“the outbreak now meets criteria for a Public Health Emergency”
The committee at the World Health Organisation have now concluded that “the outbreak now meets the criteria for a Public Health Emergency of International Concern”.
