The Chinese have selected the source of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus

Coronavirus has spread to humans from some animal species. The circle of suspects concerned species sold at a market in Wuhan - a city whose inhabitants were the first to encounter 2019-nCoV.

However, it turns out that the original carriers of the coronavirus were not bats, as epidemiologists previously thought. One of the hypotheses was as follows: coronavirus from bats sold at the market adapted to new possibilities and began to infect people. The same scenario occurred 18 years earlier, in the case of the SARS epidemic.

What's more, bats are equipped with a very efficient immune system, which of course makes viruses that evolve in such a difficult environment, after breaking the immune barrier and adjusting to infecting people are difficult to treat. These clues seemed to match 2019-nCoV.

Chinese researchers, after analyzing 1,000 samples from the Wuhan market, identified another guilty person.

The study was conducted by specialists from the South China University of Agriculture. A coronavirus genome sample from a human patient was compared with over a thousand samples from animals sold at the market. The greatest convergence was observed in samples taken from ... pangolin.

Pangolins, also called pangolins (which is not entirely correct because it is their English-speaking name) are scaled animals of a size similar to domestic cats. In the wild, they don't have many natural enemies, but they are one of the species that the Chinese consider to be a local delicacy. Hence their large numbers at the Wuhan market.

In addition, their scales are one of the often used ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine. Pangolin powder is said to treat hypertension, arthritis, psoriasis and support lactation. It is a medicine so deeply rooted in Chinese culture that apparently many doctors employed in state hospitals are still recommending that their patients be supplied with this specificity. That is probably why all the pangolin species that live in Africa and Asia are considered to be near extinction.

Coronavirus a "chance" for pangolin.

After discovering the origin of the new coronavirus, a possible scenario becomes a situation where the authorities of the People's Republic of China announce to everyone that pangolins may be potential nosicials of 2019-nCoV. Such an announcement could affect a large proportion of Chinese people and cause that the demand for scales and meat of these animals would decrease significantly.

The most important thing is, however, that Chinese scientists managed to determine the original origin of 2019-nCoV at 99%. It is possible that part of the pangolin population has already developed appropriate defense mechanisms against the virus, which may accelerate the work on the vaccine prepared for humans.

For now, however, patients must be satisfied with emergency care and - if they are lucky - hospitalization. According to WHO, 99% cases of 2019-nCoV occur in China, so for the people of this country the matter is very serious. Especially if we look at the latest statistics , according to which the Wuhan coronavirus has already infected more than 45,000. people, of which over 1,100 have died.

In the rest of the world, there have been isolated cases of incidence, which is why WHO has not yet announced the pandemic status for 2019-nCoV. Experts, however, urge epidemiologists who are currently researching the new coronavirus to share their findings.

At least pangolins have a chance to gain something from this situation.

The Chinese have selected the source of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus