RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Coronavirus surveillance of wildlife in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic detects viral RNA in rodents
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2020.04.22.056218
DO 10.1101/2020.04.22.056218
A1 David J. McIver
A1 Soubanh Silithammavong
A1 Watthana Theppangna
A1 Amethyst Gillis
A1 Bounlom Douangngeun
A1 Kongsy Khammavong
A1 Sinpakone Singhalath
A1 Veasna Duong
A1 Philippe Buchy
A1 Sarah H. Olson
A1 Lucy Keatts
A1 Amanda E. Fine
A1 Zoe Greatorex
A1 Martin Gilbert
A1 Matthew LeBreton
A1 Karen Saylors
A1 Damien O. Joly
A1 Edward M. Rubin
A1 Christian E. Lange
YR 2020
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/04/23/2020.04.22.056218.abstract
AB Coronaviruses can become zoonotic as in the case of COVID-19, and hunting, sale, and consumption of wild animals in Southeast Asia facilitates an increased risk for such incidents. We sampled and tested rodents (851) and other mammals, and found Betacoronavirus RNA in 12 rodents. The sequences belong to two separate genetic clusters, and relate closely to known rodent coronaviruses detected in the region, and distantly to human coronaviruses OC43 and HKU1. Considering close human-wildlife contact with many species in and beyond the region, a better understanding of virus diversity is urgently needed for the mitigation of future risks.Competing Interest StatementPhilippe Buchy is currently an employee of GSK vaccines.