Researchers in China have identified a batch of new coronaviruses among bats, including one that appears to be genetically the second-closest so far to the COVID-19 virus.

These discoveries in a small region of Yunnan province, southwestern China suggest that several coronaviruses exist in bats and many have the potential to spread to humans. Researchers obtained samples from small, forest-dwelling bats from May, 2019 through November, 2020 and tested urine and feces as well as swabs from the bats mouths. Twenty four novel coronavirus genomes were identified among different bat species, which included four SARS-CoV-2 like coronaviruses. One of these was very similar genetically to the SARS-CoV-2 virus - a sample called RpYN06 obtained from a horseshoe bat species. The findings are published in the journal Cell… (CNN, June 11, 2021)