Snakes could be the Source o f the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak

By Haitao Guo, Guangxiang "George" Luo and Shou-Jiang Gao, The Conversation

Updated 3:41 PM ET, FriJanuary 24, 2020

(CNN) Snakes -- the Chinese krait and the Chinese cobra -- may be the original source of the newly discovered coronavirus that has triggered an outbreak of a deadly infectious respiratory illness in China this winter.

Wuhan coronavirus death toll rises, as city imposes transport lackdown

The many-banded krait (Bungarus multicinctus), also known as the Taiwanese krait or the Chinese krait, is a highly venomous species of elapid snake found in much of central and southern China and Southeast Asia.

The illness was first reported in late December 2019 in Wuhan, a major city in central China, and has been rapidly spreading. Since then, sick travelers from Wuhan have infected people in China and other countries, including the United States.

Using samples of the virus isolated from patients, scientists in China have determined the genetic code of the virus and used microscopes to photograph it. The pathogen responsible for this pandemic is a new coronavirus. It's in the same family of viruses as the well-known severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), which have killed hundreds of people in the past 17 years. The World Health Organization (WHO) has named the new coronavirus 2019-nCoV.

We are virologists and journal editors and are closely following this outbreak because there are many questions that need to be answered to curb the spread of this public health threat.

What is a coronavirus?

The name of coronavirus comes from its shape, which resembles a crown or solar corona when imaged using an electron microscope.

A visual guide to the Wuhan coronavirus
The electron microscopic image, reveals the crown shape structural details for which the coronavirus was named. This image is of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Coronavirus is transmitted through the air and primarily infects the upper respiratory and gastrointestinal tract of mammals and birds. Though most of the members of the coronavirus family only cause mild flu-like symptoms during infection, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV can infect both upper and lower airways and cause severe respiratory illness and other complications in humans.
This new 2019-nCoV causes similar symptoms to SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. People infected with these coronaviruses suffer a severe inflammatory response.
Unfortunately, there is no approved vaccine or antiviral treatment available for coronavirus infection. A better understanding of the life cycle of 2019-nCoV, including the source of the virus, how it is transmitted and how it replicates are needed to both prevent and treat the disease.
Read: What exactly is a coronavirus?

Zoonotic transmission

Both SARS and MERS are classified as zoonotic viral diseases, meaning the first patients who were infected acquired these viruses directly from animals. This was possible because while in the animal host, the virus had acquired a series of genetic mutations that allowed it to infect and multiply inside humans.

First US case of Wuhan coronavirus confirmed by CDC

Now these viruses can be transmitted from person to person. Field studies have revealed that the original source of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV is the bat, and that the masked palm civets (a mammal native to Asia and Africa) and camels, respectively, served as intermediate hosts between bats and humans.

In the case of this 2019 coronavirus outbreak, reports state that most of the first group of patients hospitalized were workers or customers at a local seafood wholesale market which also sold processed meats and live consumable animals including poultry, donkeys, sheep, pigs, camels, foxes, badgers, bamboo rats, hedgehogs and reptiles. However, since no one has ever reported finding a coronavirus infecting aquatic animals, it is plausible that the coronavirus may have originated from other animals sold in that market.

Life inside ground zero of Wuhan coronavirus outbreak

The hypothesis that the 2019-nCoV jumped from an animal at the market is strongly supported by a new publication in the Journal of Medical Virology. The scientists conducted an analysis and compared the genetic sequences of 2019-nCoV and all other known coronaviruses.

The study of the genetic code of 2019-nCoV reveals that the new virus is most closely related to two bat SARS-like coronavirus samples from China, initially suggesting that, like SARS and MERS, the bat might also be the origin of 2019-nCoV. The authors further found that the viral RNA coding sequence of 2019-nCoV spike protein, which forms the "crown" of the virus particle that recognizes the receptor on a host cell, indicates that the bat virus might have mutated before infecting people.

How influenza jumped from animals to humans

But when the researchers performed a more detailed bioinformatics analysis of the sequence of 2019-nCoV, it suggests that this coronavirus might come from snakes.
The Wuhan Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market, where the coronavirus outbreak is believed to have started, is now closed.

From bats to snakes

The researchers used an analysis of the protein codes favored by the new coronavirus and compared it to the protein codes from coronaviruses found in different animal hosts, like birds, snakes, marmots, hedgehogs, manis, bats and humans. Surprisingly, they found that the protein codes in the 2019-nCoV are most similar to those used in snakes.

Snakes often hunt for bats in wild. Reports indicate that snakes were sold in the local seafood market in Wuhan, raising the possibility that the 2019-nCoV might have jumped from the host species -- bats -- to snakes and then to humans at the beginning of this coronavirus outbreak. However, how the virus could adapt to both the cold-blooded and warm-blooded hosts remains a mystery.

The authors of the report and other researchers must verify the origin of the virus through laboratory experiments. Searching for the 2019-nCoV sequence in snakes would be the first thing to do. However, since the outbreak, the seafood market has been disinfected and shut down, which makes it challenging to trace the new virus' source animal.

3 reasons the US is not ready for a pandemic

Sampling viral RNA from animals sold at the market and from wild snakes and bats is needed to confirm the origin of the virus. Nonetheless, the reported findings will also provide insights for developing prevention and treatment protocols.
The 2019-nCoV outbreak is another reminder that people should limit the consumption of wild animals to prevent zoonotic infections.


Haitao Guo and Shou-Jiang Gao are professors of microbiology and molecular genetics at the University of Pittsburgh. Guangxiang "George" Luo is a professor of microbiology at University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Republished under a Creative Commons license from The Conversation.

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Heavy rains, flooding forcing snakes to seek higher ground in Arkansas

Heavy rains, flooding forcing snakes to seek higher ground in Arkansas- KATV 


Posted: May 27, 2015 11:44 PM EDT

Updated: May 27, 2015 11:44 PM EDT

By Matt Mershon, Reporter



LITTLE ROCK (KATV) -Emergency rooms, even veterinarians' offices are reporting more and more snake bites. Recent heavy rains in Arkansas are the apparent cause of the problem. Snakes and other animals are seeking higher ground as flooding ensues.

Not only have heavy rains either flooded and washed away the natural habitats for Arkansas native snakes, making snakes seek shelter elsewhere, much of the snake's food supply is on the run as well due to the high waters.

“If the rats and mice and other small animals that they feed on have moved out, they're following that prey source,” said Neil Curry, facility director at the Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center.

Curry said most of the snakes people will end up encountering are probably harmless, but both venomous and non-venomous can and will bite if provoked.

Out of 36 species of snakes in Arkansas, only six of those species are classified as venomous. The way, although not easy, to tell the difference is that non-venomous snakes tend to have more rounded features – rounded head and pupil. A venomous snake tends to have more slit-like eyes and more rigid head.

The most common venomous snake in Arkansas is the copperhead. The cottonmouth snake, commonly referred to as a water moccasin, is the only venomous water snake.

There are three rattlesnakes common to Arkansas – the Western Diamond Rattlesnake, Timber Rattlesnake and the Western Pigmy Rattlesnake. The last venomous snake is the Texas Coral Snake.

“If it's red, yellow and black, you don't want to mess with it,” commented Curry regarding the Coral snake. Two snakes native to Arkansas mimic the Coral snake, but are not actually venomous.

Keeping a well-groomed lawn and making sure brush piles are cleared away give snakes less room to hide. If cleaning up brush, be sure to do it with a rake first to potentially dislodge any unwanted creatures seeking shelter.

As warmer temperatures approach, the inclination to wear sandals, flip-flops or just be plain barefoot isn't a great idea if snakes are lurking.

“A study pair of boots can make a big difference,” said Curry.

Snake bites, regardless of being poisonous, can still hurt and be dangerous. If not treated properly, snake bites from non-venomous snakes can become infected.

“Soap and water and remain calm,” recounted Curry as two things to do post-snake bite. “We always say get your car keys, get to the doctor, have it checked out and they'll take appropriate action if it is determined that it's a venomous snake,”

Rule of thumb is if you see a snake and don't know what type of snake it is – just leave it alone. Snakes try to avoid people.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission says they can identify pictures of snakes. You can upload a picture to the Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center for identification directly to their Facebook page or by messaging them by clicking here.

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P.S.

Moral of this story - ⬆

Animals know when to head for the hills...

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St Patrick drove out the pagans - not the snakes

Botched translation of text spawned myth of beloved national saint

Emma Quinlan from Castleknock pictured with her pet snake Bubbles

By Tom Prendiville
Sunday March 16 2008

The legend of Saint Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland may be nothing more than misreading of an ancient text.

According to Irish lore, Saint Patrick scattered the serpents and drove them into the sea, though most naturalists are convinced that larger reptiles were never part of our fauna.

Now it's emerged that the myth may have come about because of a too-literal translation of an ancient sixth century text called the Dinnshenchas.

The text carries an account of a sect called the Crom Cruich, who used the symbolism of the snake.

In time, Crom Cruich eventually became a powerful force in Ireland, whose followers used the snake as their symbol. And herein may lie the real story about Saint Patrick driving out the snakes "Crom Cruich which literally means bloody crescent, was a pagan site of worship near the village of Ballymagauran in County Cavan. It's exact location was in the plain of Mag Sleact, which translates into the field of adoration. At its entrance was a large megalithic standing stone which was surrounded by 12 smaller upright lintels. So in a sense it looked like Stonehenge in England."

"The Crom Cruich cult were very bloodthirsty with the faithful expected to sacrifice their first born in his honour to assure a successful harvest. The annual slaughter took place on the pagan feast of Samhain, on November 1, each year," explains historian, Thomais Moriarty, who specialises in pre-Christian Ireland.

It's recounted in the text that Saint Patrick marched on the place with a band of well-armed missionaries, mocked its demons, blessed the place afterwards and then destroyed the site.

"By all accounts, a major battle took place, but Patrick and his well-armed followers won the day.
"The people feared terrible retribution from the pagan god afterwards, but it never came to pass, and from that point onwards, the cult's grip was effectively broken in Ireland for all time.

The event is recorded in the 6th century Dinnshenchas text, otherwise known as the Book of Leinster," adds Thomais Moriarty.

According to Brendan Scott of Cavan County Museum, a standing stone which stood at the entrance to the site was destroyed but the Crom Cruich idol is still in existence: "We have the Kilcluggin Stone which is part of the original Crum Cruich idol. When Saint Patrick came along it was covered in gold and would have stood in the centre. Surrounding it were 12 smaller stones which were covered in silver. There is a rath (fort) at the top of a hill near Ballyconnell in west Cavan called Derryrath, and I reckon that was the original site where Saint Patrick had the battle and destroyed the idol," explains Brendan Scott.

Ireland has two native reptiles which belong to the serpent family: the Common Lizard and the Slow Worm, a legless snake-like serpent measuring several inches long which is native to Clare.

The Common lizard or Lacerta Vivipara, belongs to the same family as the mildly poisonous Adder, which is found in Britain, but not here. The native Irish lizard lives mainly in coastal areas and hibernates until the spring and one of the largest colonies in the country is in Slieve Bloom, Tipperary.

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- Tom Prendiville

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http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/st-patricks-day/st-patrick-drove-out-the-pagans--not-the-snakes-1318905.html

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