Coronavirus 'was spread to humans by dogs', scientists claim
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Coronavirus 'was spread to humans by dogs', scientists claim
By
Mark Waghorn
Shivali Best
22:00, 14 APR 2020
While previous studies suggested that the virus was passed to humans by pangolins, a Canadian team now claims that dogs were actually responsible for passing the virus to humans
It’s one of the worst pandemics in history, and now scientists believe they may know how the coronavirus was spread to humans.
The virus is believed to have originated in bats, before being passed to humans via an intermediate animal.
While previous studies suggested that this animal was a pangolin, a Canadian team now claims that a different animal is responsible for passing the virus to humans.
Researchers from the University of Ottawa claim that coronavirus was actually spread to humans by dogs.
Lead author Professor Xuhua Xia suggests a scenario in which "the coronavirus first spread from bats to stray dogs eating bat meat."
The specific origins of Covid-19 are "of vital interest in the current world health crisis," he said.
Professor Xia, a biologist at the University of Ottawa, went on: "Our observations have allowed the formation of a new hypothesis for the origin and initial transmission.
"The ancestor of Covid-19 and its nearest relative, a bat coronavirus, infected the intestine of dogs, most likely resulting in a rapid evolution of the virus and its jump into humans.
"This suggests the importance of monitoring SARS-like coronaviruses in feral dogs in the fight against Covid-19."
Pangolins were previously believed to have provided the key 'staging post'.
But a complex analysis of Covid 19 mutations has ruled both them out as the 'human reservoir' - as well as bats....
...."A virus with an increased amount of CpG would be better targeted by the host immune system, and result in reduced virulence, which would be akin to natural vaccines."
He found only genomes from dog coronaviruses have CpG values similar to those observed in Covid-19.
They also affect their digestive system and enter via a protein called ACE2 which is also made in humans' intestines.
Professor Xia said: "This is consistent with the interpretation the low CpG in Covid-19 was acquired by the ancestor evolving in mammalian digestive systems.
"Interpretation is further corroborated by a recent report that a high proportion of Covid-19 patients also suffer from digestive discomfort. In fact, 48.5% presented with digestive symptoms as their chief complaint."
Humans are the only other host species the researchers observed to produce coronavirus gen....
https://www.mirror.co.uk/science/cor...-dogs-21864670
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