Coronavirus: top scientists push for ‘quantum leap’ in bat virus research to avoid new pandemic
- Warnings about the risks of bat coronaviruses causing human disease have gone unheeded for years, researchers write in journal article
- ‘Important research that has languished, been underfunded or discontinued should be greatly expanded to deal with the urgency of the situation,’ they say
Writing in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 10 eminent scientists – including from the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases – said warnings about the risks of bat coronaviruses causing human disease had gone unheeded for years, and there had been no sense of urgency to address the concerns.
“Important research that has languished, been underfunded or discontinued should be greatly expanded to deal with the urgency of the situation, and more scientists, including scientists working in China and other hotspot countries, should be recruited to these efforts, especially in international research partnerships,” the scientists said.
The article comes after research monitoring coronaviruses in bats appeared earlier this year to be caught in the political crossfire around the novel coronavirus.
