Pangolins Investigated as Possible Intermediate Host in Early COVID-19 Transmission
Chinese researchers reported that the endangered pangolin could have been a potential intermediate host in the transmission of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) from bats to humans during the early stages of the outbreak in Wuhan. Pangolin in spreading the Coronavirus to humans identified as potential suspect | چائنیز ریسرچرز نے کرونا وائرس کی چمگادڑوں سے انسانوں میں منتقلی کا ذمہ دار ممکنہ طور پر پینگولن کو قرار دے دیا
Scientists at the South China Agricultural University analyzed more than 1,000 samples from wild animals and found that coronavirus genome sequences detected in pangolins were 99% similar to those found in infected patients. Based on these findings, the researchers suggested that pangolins might have played a role in transmitting the virus, although they acknowledged that bats were likely the original natural reservoir.
However, international experts urged caution, noting that the available evidence was insufficient to establish pangolins as the definitive intermediate host. Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the University of Nottingham emphasized that complete genetic data were needed, as the detected similarities could have resulted from environmental contamination rather than direct transmission.
Pangolins are among the world’s most heavily trafficked mammals, with more than one million illegally taken from forests in Asia and Africa over the past decade. They are commonly traded for their scales, which are used in traditional medicine despite lacking proven medicinal value, and for their meat, which is sold on the black market.
Following the COVID-19 outbreak, China imposed a temporary ban on wildlife trade to help control the epidemic. Conservationists argued that the illegal trade in wild animals increases the risk of zoonotic diseases and called for stronger measures to end wildlife trafficking.
The report also noted that previous disease outbreaks, including the SARS epidemic of 2002–03, were linked to wildlife, with bats identified as the original reservoir and civets believed to have served as intermediate hosts. Experts concluded that reducing wildlife trade is essential to lowering the risk of future zoonotic disease outbreaks and protecting both public health and endangered species.
لاہور چڑیا گھر میں پینگولن کا عالمی دن منایا گیا
