INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The deadly coronavirus outbreak in China could have spread from bats to humans through the illegal traffic of pangolins - the world's only
scaly mammals which are prized in Asia for food and medicine.The pangolin is one of Asia's most trafficked mammals, although protected by
international law, because its meat is considered a delicacy in countries such as China and its scales are used in traditional
medicine."This latest discovery will be of great significance for the prevention and control of the origin (of the virus)," South China
Agricultural University, which led the research, said in a statement on its website.Image:The mammal's scales are used in traditional
medicineThe news came as:The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak rose to 636, with more than 31,000 people infected globallyA British
man on board a cruise ship has been diagnosed with the coronavirus while on his honeymoonThe World Health Organisation (WHO) warned of a
chronic shortage of gowns, masks, gloves and other protective equipment in the fight against the spreading epidemicThe head of the WHO said
a drop in the number of new virus cases for two days is "good news" but warned "the numbers could go up again"Hong Kong said it may jail or
fine anyone who fails to observe the two-week quarantine for arrivals from mainland ChinaA doctor who tried to warn others about the
coronavirus outbreak in December died from the infection.The outbreak, which has killed more than 600 people in mainland China, is believed
to have started in a market in the city of Wuhan, in central Hubei province that also sold live wild animals.Doctor killed by coronavirus 'a
symbol of transparency'Health experts think it may have originated in bats and then passed to humans, possibly via another species.The
genome sequence of the novel coronavirus strain separated from pangolins in the study was 99% identical to that from infected people,
China's official Xinhua news agency reported.It added that the research found that pangolins to be "the most likely intermediate host".But
Dirk Pfeiffer, professor of veterinary medicine at Hong Kong's City University, said the study was still a long way from proving pangolins
transmitted the virus."You can only draw more definitive conclusions if you compare prevalence (of the coronavirus) between different
species based on representative samples, which these almost certainly are not," he said.Even then, a link to humans via food markets still
needs to be established, Prof Pfeiffer added.
