Where Did COVID-19 Come From?
With the worldwide spread of the Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, what do we know about it? Where did COVID-19 really come from? Did the Coronavirus come from bats? How could it happen that people eat bat soup in China that would lead to people being infected with the Coronavirus? Many are saying that the Coronavirus came from bats, but how true is this statement? No one really knows where COVID-19 came from, other than the fact that it originated in China. What they don’t know is what started the virus. Was it bats, or some other animal? Or was it something different?
What Is COVID-19?
With the COVID-19 virus spreading throughout the world, people really are going BAT CRAZY!!! We would never make light of such a serious situation that is having a horrific impact on so many people, but we do hope that people are able to act with empathy toward their fellow citizens. What many people don’t know is that COVID-19 is a virus that is transferred from person to person through a cough, sneeze, or other body fluid. People going to stores and clearing them out of toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and food is not going to help decrease the spread of the virus. All that is doing is putting more panic in people because they won’t be able to get the things they need for their day-to-day living.
Who Is At Risk?
Also, with the COVID-19 virus, we need to remember that if you use good hygiene, wash your hands more than normal, and follow the social distancing guidelines, you will dramatically enhance your chances of being ok. Most reports say the virus is most dangerous for the elderly, but there have been fatalities of all ages. Anyone that has health issues with breathing needs to be extra careful as well, simply because they have a weak immune system and they are more susceptible to getting the virus. If you feel you may have any of the symptoms attributed to the virus, then you need to check with health experts to ascertain your best path forward. Experts are still not 100% sure as to how the COVID-19 virus started; all they know is that it started in China.
Past Coronavirus Origins
Back in 2002, there was another virus named SARS-CoV that entered China’s population as a result of zoonotic transmission. Studies demonstrated that the first human cases of SARS were caused by types of coronaviruses closely related to viruses found in masked palm civets and dogs. Subsequently, surveys of coronaviruses in domestic animals, livestock, poultry, and wildlife were conducted in Southeast Asia to identify the reservoir of SARS-CoV. Several species of horseshoe-nosed bats from different locations in Southern People’s Republic of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region were found to be infected with SARS-like CoVs, and some of the bats had antibodies to these newly recognized coronaviruses.
Where Could this COVID-19 Come From?
Originally experts were guessing this specific coronavirus began from an ant-eating pangolin. But as time has gone on, they are not sure if this is why and where the virus is coming from. Public safety is the most important aspect of the COVID-19 virus. Public health officials want to pin down the source of the virus so they can prevent new outbreaks. Dozens of people infected early in the current outbreak worked in a live-animal market in the Chinese city of Wuhan, but tests of coronavirus samples found at the market have yet to identify a source.
Scientists assume that the pathogen jumped to people from an animal, as has been the case with other coronaviruses; for example, the virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is thought to have jumped to humans from civets in 2002.
Why Would the Virus be Carried by Bats?
Some bats, including those known to be the original source of human infections, have been shown to host immune systems that are perpetually primed to mount defenses against viruses. Viral infection in these bats leads to a swift response that walls the virus out of cells. While this may protect the bats from getting infected with high viral loads, it encourages these viruses to reproduce more quickly within a host before a defense can be mounted.
This makes bats a unique reservoir of rapidly reproducing and highly transmissible viruses. While the bats can tolerate viruses like these, when these bat viruses then move into animals that lack a fast-response immune system, the viruses quickly overwhelm their new hosts, leading to high fatality rates. Some bats can mount this robust antiviral response, but also balance it with an anti-inflammation response. Our immune systems are not like that of bats; we are not able to deal or fight off viruses as bats can. When it comes to bats, they can carry so many different kinds of diseases and other kinds of sicknesses that we as humans can not fight off, which can cause us illness or even death.
So Is It From Bats? Or No?
So where did COVID-19 really come from? As of now, no one really knows. Scientists know little about COVID-19 other than it is a virus that is passed through viral instances such as a cough, sneeze, etc. Experts and Doctors have also not found a way to stop it or slow it down, but they are working on it day-in and day-out.
What You Can Do Next
As individuals, we need to make sure that we keep things as clean as possible. We need to stay home as much as possible and to keep our kids home —to limit the virus spreading anymore.
We don’t know if this virus is animal-related or not. Experts are working hard to get answers, but much is still a mystery at this point. Obviously, society is hoping to have answers soon, and that we can together get this virus under control. The loss of human life is tragic, and the hope is that experts can learn what its origins were and come up with ways to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.