Researchers with the Smithsonian's Global Health Program discovered six new coronaviruses in Burma bats. All the bats live in a cave called Linno Cave. The first time these viruses have been detected anywhere in the world.

Forthcoming studies will assess the potential for transmission across species to understand the risks to human health better. They are not closely related to SARS-CoV-2, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV.

These findings will help to explain the variation of coronaviruses in bats and inform global efforts to identify, prevent and respond to infectious diseases that could put public health at risk.

The New Coronaviruses no genetically close to Covid-19

These viruses are part of the family of SARS-CoV-2 virus that is currently spreading all over the world; but the researchers said the new viruses are not genetically close to SARS-CoV-2 or to the other two coronaviruses that generated critical infections in people, (SARS) Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which started the 2002-2003 pandemic, and the (MERS) Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.

The PREDICT project

Researchers discovered these six new viruses while conducting bio-surveillance of animals and people to understand better the circumstances for viruses spillover, part of the PREDICT project.

PREDICT, an initiative funded by the (USAID) U.S. Agency for International Development, promotes the global detection and surveillance of pathogens that potentially could spread from animals to humans.

The PREDICT research team in Myanmar consists of scientists from the Smithsonian; the University of California, Davis; Myanmar's Ministry of Health and Sports; Myanmar's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation; and Myanmar's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation.

Between 2016 and 2018, researchers collected hundreds of saliva and guano (or bat poop) samples from 464 bats from over 11 different species. They got the samples at three areas in Myanmar where people come into close contact with wildlife due to land-use alterations and recreational and cultural projects — such as guano collection for fertiliser.

The new viruses were found in three bat species

The researchers examined genetic sequences from those samples and compared them with genomes of identified coronaviruses. The new viruses were found in three bat species: the Greater Asiatic yellow house bat (Scotophilus heathii), where PREDICT-CoV-90 was detected; the wrinkle-lipped free-tailed bat (Chaerephon plicatus), where to PREDICT-CoV-47 and -82 were found; and Horsfield's leaf-nosed bat (Hipposideros larvatus), which carried PREDICT-CoV-92, -93 and -96.

Further research is needed to understand the potential for these six newfound viruses to move to other species and how they might impact human health, the researchers said.

The discovery of six new coronaviruses did not come as a surprise to researchers. PREDICT has detected over 150 coronaviruses around the globe. And bats are considered to carry thousands of coronaviruses, and the majority have yet to be discovered by researchers. "We know that these exist," Valitutto says. "It's just a matter of finding them." There are an estimated 1.6 million undiscovered viral species in birds and mammals.

Smithsonian researchers have worked with the Myanmar government for more than two decades. In 2018, they announced the discovery of a novel coronavirus in bats there. And one other coronavirus they had previously detected in Thailand.

The researchers now find themselves studying coronaviruses at a time when the whole world is focused on that viral family. And they believe that the current pandemic demonstrates why their work is so important.

Globally, as of 13 April 2020, there have been 1,776,867 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 111,828 deaths, reported to WHO.