All human viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, arose from spillovers from other animals. Results of a recent study of bat samples collected in a small region of Yunnan Province, China revealed additional close relatives of SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV. After the identification of SARS-CoV-2 in early 2020, wildlife sampling and retrospective genome sequencing revealed highly related viruses in …
Recently isolated coronaviruses from humans in Haiti and Malaysia appear to have originated in pigs and dogs.
After SARS-Cov came and went in 2003, we learned that bats in China harbor SARS-like coronaviruses with the capacity to infect human cells. This information was largely ignored, otherwise we would have stopped this pandemic in its tracks. A coronavirus that went from bats to pigs might represent yet another threat to human health. Swine …
We missed SARS-CoV-2, what other coronaviruses are we ignoring? Read More »
Tony Schountz joins TWiV to explain the work of his laboratory showing that deer mice can be infected with and transmit SARS-CoV-2, and how his colony of Jamaican fruit bats is being used to understand their response to virus infections.
SARS-CoV-2 not only infects humans but can also spread occasionally from humans to cats, dogs, and tigers. A recent addition to this menagerie is the farmed mink. In mid-April 2020 mink on two farms in the Netherlands developed signs of respiratory disease which included nasal discharge and respiratory distress. Examination of the lungs revealed interstitial …
Raul Rabadan joins TWiV to explain the use of computational biology to demonstrate how recombination and mutation led to emergence of SARS-CoV-2. Click arrow to playDownload TWiV 619 (43 MB .mp3, 72 min)Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv
