Coronavirus, found in Indian bats, not evidently connected to COVID-19

A potentially pathogenic coronavirus has been detected in Indian bats, stressing the need for enhancing screening for the deadly viruses in them. This was discovered under a study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), which was a step towards understanding the coronavirus circulation in Indian bats.

There have been studies and theories that the coronavirus pandemic which spread from Wuhan in China had originated from bats.

The ICMR study for the first time has found the presence of a different kind of coronavirus, bat coronavirus (BtCoV) in two bat species from these four states. According to the study published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research, there is no evidence to suggest that the bat coronaviruses can cause disease in humans.

Bats from the Rousettus and Pteropus species from the four states were found positive. These bat coronaviruses are not related to the SARS-CoV2 which is causing the Covid 19 pandemic. The Pteropus bat species were earlier found positive for Nipah virus in 2018 and 2019 in Kerala.

The study by the ICMR found the presence of a bat coronavirus in bat species from Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu.

"Bats are considered to be the natural reservoir for many viruses, of which some are potential human pathogens. In India, an association of Pteropus medius bats with the Nipah virus was reported in the past. It is suspected that the recently emerged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) also has its association with bats," the objective of the study titled 'Detection of coronaviruses in Pteropus and Rousettus species of bats from different states of India' said.

In conclusion, the study showed detection of pathogenic CoVs in two species of Indian bats. Continuous active surveillance is required to identify the emerging novel viruses with epidemic potential.

"There is a need of proactive surveillance of zoonotic infections in bats. Detection and identifications of such aetiological agents will provide leads for the development of diagnostic along with preparedness and readiness to deal with such emergent viruses thereby quickly containing them," the study said.

Although CoVs in the subfamily Coronavirinae do not usually produce clinical symptoms in their natural hosts (bats), accidental transmission of these viruses to humans and other animals may result in respiratory, enteric, hepatic or neurologic diseases of variable severity. It is still not understood as to why only certain CoVs can infect people, the study said.