No, snakes probably aren’t the source of that new coronavirus in China
An outbreak of a pneumonia-like virus in China has scientists puzzling over the disease’s origins and searching for animals that may have spread it to humans. A new study points to snakes as the culprit, but other researchers are skeptical. It’s unlikely the virus jumped from a reptile to a human, says Edward Holmes, a virologist at the University of Sydney. “I can’t categorically say it’s never happened,” he says. “But the [animal] reservoirs for human viruses are mainly mammals and maybe birds.” Animals are often the source of human disease outbreaks. Many recent and ongoing epidemics are zoonotic, getting their start in animals, such as the 2014 –2016 Ebola outbreak in Africa and Zika virus that hit the Americas in 2016. (Scientists suspect bats are behind Ebola’s jump from animals to people (SN: 12/31/14); Zika is from nonhuman primates (SN: 2/8/17).) Knowing what animals carry the virus behind the new disease outbreak can help people protect themselves from exposure. The current...