Detection of novel coronaviruses in bats in Myanmar.
Marc T Valitutto, Ohnmar Aung, Kyaw Yan Naing Tun, Megan E Vodzak, Dawn Zimmerman, Jennifer H Yu, Ye Tun Win, Min Thein Maw, Wai Zin Thein, Htay Htay Win, Jasjeet Dhanota, Victoria Ontiveros, Brett Smith, Alexandre Tremeau-Brevard, Tracey Goldstein, Christine K Johnson, Suzan Murray, Jonna Mazet
Author Information
Marc T Valitutto: Global Health Program, Smithsonian's National Zoological Park and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America. ORCID
Ohnmar Aung: Global Health Program, Smithsonian's National Zoological Park and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America.
Kyaw Yan Naing Tun: Global Health Program, Smithsonian's National Zoological Park and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America.
Megan E Vodzak: Global Health Program, Smithsonian's National Zoological Park and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America.
Dawn Zimmerman: Global Health Program, Smithsonian's National Zoological Park and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America.
Jennifer H Yu: Global Health Program, Smithsonian's National Zoological Park and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America. ORCID
Ye Tun Win: Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, Naypyitaw, Myanmar.
Min Thein Maw: Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, Naypyitaw, Myanmar.
Wai Zin Thein: Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, Naypyitaw, Myanmar.
Htay Htay Win: Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, Naypyitaw, Myanmar.
Jasjeet Dhanota: One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America.
Victoria Ontiveros: One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America.
Brett Smith: One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America.
Alexandre Tremeau-Brevard: One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America.
Tracey Goldstein: One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America.
Christine K Johnson: One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America.
Suzan Murray: Global Health Program, Smithsonian's National Zoological Park and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America.
Jonna Mazet: One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America.
The recent emergence of bat-borne zoonotic viruses warrants vigilant surveillance in their natural hosts. Of particular concern is the family of coronaviruses, which includes the causative agents of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and most recently, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), an epidemic of acute respiratory illness originating from Wuhan, China in December 2019. Viral detection, discovery, and surveillance activities were undertaken in Myanmar to identify viruses in animals at high risk contact interfaces with people. Free-ranging bats were captured, and rectal and oral swabs and guano samples collected for coronaviral screening using broadly reactive consensus conventional polymerase chain reaction. Sequences from positives were compared to known coronaviruses. Three novel alphacoronaviruses, three novel betacoronaviruses, and one known alphacoronavirus previously identified in other southeast Asian countries were detected for the first time in bats in Myanmar. Ongoing land use change remains a prominent driver of zoonotic disease emergence in Myanmar, bringing humans into ever closer contact with wildlife, and justifying continued surveillance and vigilance at broad scales.
