Scientists uncover coronavirus-related SARS-CoV-2 in Cambodian bats sampled more than 10 years ago

Coronaviruses very closely related to SARS-CoV-2, which can lead to COVID-19, was uncovered in a pair of bats sampled in Cambodia more than 10 years ago. The discovery, outlined in the journal Nature Communications, further supports theories that the global pandemic was the result of a “spillover of a bat-borne virus.” In December 2019, government officials in the Chinese city of Wuhan confirmed that health authorities were treating several cases of pneumonia of unknown cause. Just a few days later, researchers in China identified a new virus that had infected dozens of people across Asia. In ...