China coronavirus may have come from a snake, researchers say

Nearest match for virus’s genetic coding pattern found in two species – the Many-banded krait and Chinese cobra – both of which are commonly found in southern China, scientists say

Meanwhile, Chinese professor in Germany says deadly outbreak likely to peak in March, based on information about spread of Sars

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The Chinese cobra has been identified as one of two snakes that could be the reservoir for the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: AFCD

Published: 2:33pm, 23 Jan 2020Updated: 2:33pm, 17 Feb 2020

The novel coronavirus in China that has killed 17 people and infected hundreds more might have made its first jump to a human from a snake, according to a study by a group of Chinese scientists, while a Chinese professor in Germany has forecast that the epidemic will reach its peak in March.

If the snake claim is substantiated – other researchers in China have challenged it – it would change the scientific world’s understanding of the transmission and mutation of Sars-like pathogens, as it would be the first time a reptile had been found to be the reservoir.

With the number of infections and deaths spiking in recent days, determining the source of the virus and its evolutionary history is key to containing its spread.

In the study, published in the Journal of Medical Virology on Wednesday, a joint team from Beijing, Nanning, Ningbo and Wuhan reconstructed the virus's physical structure using published data.

They discovered it had a mysterious spike protein. This protein is usually used by a virus to recognise and hook on to the surface of a host cell, but its pattern in the new virus has never been seen before.

Earlier studies found that the Wuhan and Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome) viruses shared a common ancestor that could be traced to a betacoronavirus that had been found in bats. However, that virus could not be transmitted to humans without an intermediate.

A Chinese economics professor working in Germany says the virus outbreak may not peak until March. Photo: Xinhua

The unknown protein contained an important lead as it could be the result of a genetic recombination that took place across different species, according to the research team, which was led by Wei Ji from the School of Basic Medical Sciences at Peking University’s Health Science Centre.