最新研究：新冠病毒谱系或已在蝙蝠中悄然传播数十年

28日，学术期刊《自然-微生物学》发表的一份最新研究显示，导致新冠肺炎的新型冠状病毒SARS-CoV-2是由40至70年前与之最接近的蝙蝠病毒演化而来。

该研究团队人员来自美国宾夕法尼亚州立大学、英国爱丁堡大学和中国香港大学等机构，他们根据现有的sarbecovirus基因组数据分析了SARS-CoV-2的演化历史。SARS-CoV和SARS-CoV-2均属于sarbecovirus亚属。

The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, that causes COVID-19, evolved from most closely related bat viruses 40 to 70 years ago, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Microbiology on Tuesday.

The study, led by researchers from the Pennsylvania State University, University of Edinburgh, and University of Hong Kong, analyzed the evolutionary history of SARS-CoV-2 using available genomic data on sarbecoviruses, the viral subgenus that SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 belongs to.

研究人员发现，名为RaTG13的蝙蝠病毒基因序列和新冠病毒SARS-CoV-2基因序列高度相似，“基因组序列同一性约为96%”。两者有共同的祖先，但在几十年前出现了不同的进化路径，研究人员估计SARS-CoV-2分别在1948年、1969年和1982年从蝙蝠病毒sarbecovirus中分化出来。

该研究的作者表示，基因序列的相似性表明“目前新冠肺炎疫情的暴发可能是由蝙蝠引起的”。这一发现意味着“产生SARS-CoV-2的病毒谱系可能已经在蝙蝠中悄无声息地传播了几十年”。

They found that the sequence of a bat virus, known as RaTG13, was highly similar to that of the novel coronavirus, with "approximately 96 percent genome sequence identity." The two share a common single ancestral lineage, but subsequently took a different evolutionary pathway decades ago.

The genetic proximity tells that "a bat origin for the current COVID-19 outbreak is probable," said the authors, who discovered that the divergence dates between SARS-CoV-2 and the bat sarbecovirus reservoir were estimated as 1948, 1969 and 1982.

The findings indicate that "the lineage giving rise to SARS-CoV-2 has been circulating unnoticed in bats for decades.”

英国广播公司（BBC）援引英国雷丁大学教授马克·佩格尔的话称，这项研究对于“指出人畜共患疾病相关问题的规模和性质”意义重大。他认为，目前可能还有大量尚未检测到的病毒，这些病毒寄宿在动物体内且可传染给人类。

英国格拉斯哥大学教授大卫·罗伯森参与了此项研究，他表示确实需要了解这种病毒是在哪里或是如何传给人类的，并要对病毒进行更好的监测。这项研究中，没有证据表明该蝙蝠病毒进入人体需要中间宿主。

此外，英国《每日电讯报》援引研究报告作者的话称，该研究还为拆穿病毒阴谋论（如病毒是人为制造、病毒从实验室泄漏等说法）提供了更多证据。

The study is significant in "pointing to the scale and nature of the problems that zoonotic transmission presents to humans," reported BBC citing Mark Pagel, professor of the University of Reading, who was not involved in the study. "There may be numerous and as yet undetected viruses capable of infecting humans that reside in animal hosts.”

"We really do need to understand where or how the virus has crossed into the human population. If we now believe there's this generalist virus circulating in bats we need to get better at monitoring that," said David Robertson, professor of the University of Glasgow, who participated in the study, as no evidence shows in the study that an intermediary host is required for bat viruses to get into humans.

The study also "adds to mounting evidence discrediting conspiracy theories that suggest SARS-CoV-2 was bio-engineered or escaped from a laboratory," The Telegraph reported citing the authors.

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