A new study points to snakes as the probable source of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China.
According to researchers publishing in the Journal of Medical Virology, a number of the 300-plus infected patients attended the Huanan seafood wholesale market, where they may have been exposed to wildlife, including poultry, snake, bats, and more.
With no definitive viral source identified, researchers sequenced the genetic code of the virus and determined 2019‐nCoV is “a recombinant virus between the bat coronavirus and an origin‐unknown coronavirus.”
“Our findings suggest that snake is the most probable wildlife animal reservoir for the 2019‐nCoV” the researchers wrote, pointing to clues in the genetic code of the virus that more resemble snakes compared to other animals.
According to CNN.com, two native snake species thought to be the potential source are the Chinese krait or the Chinese cobra (pictured above).