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April 21, 2020
LEMON TREE
April 21, 2020
Six New Coronaviruses Found in Bats in Myanmar
Exercise 1- Vocabulary
1.species – n. a set of plants or animals in which the membershave similar characteristics to each other
2.outbreak – n. the sudden appearance of a contagious illness
3.sample – n. a small amount of a substance collected by ascientist or doctor
4.veterinarian – n. someone whose job is to give medical care toanimals that are sick or hurt
5.mutate – v. biology : to cause (a gene) to change andcreate an unusual characteristic in a plant or animal
6.pandemic – n. the spread of an infectious disease over a largearea in a short period of time
7.vigilant – adj. watching something carefully and always beingready to notice anything unusual or dangerous
8.surveillance – n. the activity of watching people carefully,often secretly, especially by an army or police force
Excercise2 - Article
Six New Coronaviruses Found in Bats in Myanmar
Researchershave discovered six new coronaviruses in bats while studying how diseases canpass from animals to humans.
Thescientists said the coronaviruses – found in bats in Myanmar – are not closelyrelated to the coronavirus nowaffecting many parts of the world.
Theresearch was led by scientists from the Smithsonian’s Global Health Program inWashington, D.C. The findings were recently reported ina study in the publication PLOS ONE.
Theresearchers said the six new coronaviruses have never been discovered anywherein the world.
The U.S.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says thatcoronaviruses “are a large family of viruses that are common in people and manydifferent species of animals.” The CDC adds that it is rare foranimal coronaviruses to infect people and then spread among the humanpopulation.
However,there have been major disease outbreaks caused by coronaviruses inhumans. Bats have been linked to some of them. The viruses responsible fordiseases SARS and MERS were linked to bats. The CDC says the new coronavirus,which causes the disease COVID-19, also came from bats.
Health experts estimate thatthousands of coronaviruses are present in bats, with many still undiscovered.
TheSmithsonian team worked with researchers in Myanmar on a project aimed atidentifying new diseases that are zoonotic –meaning they can spread fromanimals to humans. The project, called PREDICT,is supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Researchersworking on the project say zoonotic diseases represent about 75 percent of newdiseases affecting humans. One of their goals is to study how contact betweenhumans and wildlife can lead to coronavirusinfections in people.
The teamcentered its research in areas where humans were most likely to come into closecontact with localwildlife. Among the team members were representatives from Myanmargovernment agencies.
Theresearchers collected 759 samples of saliva and waste from bats inthe areas from May 2016 to August 2018. After examining the samples, theyidentified the six new kinds of coronavirus. The team also discovered acoronavirus found in other parts of Southeast Asia, but never before inMyanmar.
Marc Valituttois a former wildlife veterinarian with the Smithsonian’s GlobalHealth Program. He was the lead writer of the study. He said in a statementthat widespread disease outbreaks like COVID-19 should“remind us how closely human health is connected to the health of wildlife andthe environment.”
“The goalis to prevent the virus from getting into humans in the first place,”Valitutto told SmithsonianMagazine.
He addedthat future research will seek to learn more about how coronaviruses behave inanimals. For example, what permits the viruses to mutate and spreadto other species. Such research can help reduce the possibility offuture pandemics, Valitutto said.
SuzanMurray is the director of the Smithsonian’s Global Health Program. She saidmany coronaviruses do not present risks to humans. However, she notedidentifying them early on in animals can be an effective way to investigatepossible disease threats. “Vigilant surveillance, research and education arethe best tools we have to prevent pandemics before they occur,” Murray said.
Questions:
1. From what kind animal were the sixnew coronaviruses?
2. Are they similar to the coronavirusthat affects many parts of the world?
3. What was the aim of the Smithsonianteam?
4. What does zoonotic mean?
5. How many percent of the diseasescame from animals?
6. Why did Suzan Murray stress theimportance of detecting the risk earlier befor it spread?
View all episodes
By BarryFengLEMON TREE
April 21, 2020
Six New Coronaviruses Found in Bats in Myanmar
Exercise 1- Vocabulary
1.species – n. a set of plants or animals in which the membershave similar characteristics to each other
2.outbreak – n. the sudden appearance of a contagious illness
3.sample – n. a small amount of a substance collected by ascientist or doctor
4.veterinarian – n. someone whose job is to give medical care toanimals that are sick or hurt
5.mutate – v. biology : to cause (a gene) to change andcreate an unusual characteristic in a plant or animal
6.pandemic – n. the spread of an infectious disease over a largearea in a short period of time
7.vigilant – adj. watching something carefully and always beingready to notice anything unusual or dangerous
8.surveillance – n. the activity of watching people carefully,often secretly, especially by an army or police force
Excercise2 - Article
Six New Coronaviruses Found in Bats in Myanmar
Researchershave discovered six new coronaviruses in bats while studying how diseases canpass from animals to humans.
Thescientists said the coronaviruses – found in bats in Myanmar – are not closelyrelated to the coronavirus nowaffecting many parts of the world.
Theresearch was led by scientists from the Smithsonian’s Global Health Program inWashington, D.C. The findings were recently reported ina study in the publication PLOS ONE.
Theresearchers said the six new coronaviruses have never been discovered anywherein the world.
The U.S.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says thatcoronaviruses “are a large family of viruses that are common in people and manydifferent species of animals.” The CDC adds that it is rare foranimal coronaviruses to infect people and then spread among the humanpopulation.
However,there have been major disease outbreaks caused by coronaviruses inhumans. Bats have been linked to some of them. The viruses responsible fordiseases SARS and MERS were linked to bats. The CDC says the new coronavirus,which causes the disease COVID-19, also came from bats.
Health experts estimate thatthousands of coronaviruses are present in bats, with many still undiscovered.
TheSmithsonian team worked with researchers in Myanmar on a project aimed atidentifying new diseases that are zoonotic –meaning they can spread fromanimals to humans. The project, called PREDICT,is supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Researchersworking on the project say zoonotic diseases represent about 75 percent of newdiseases affecting humans. One of their goals is to study how contact betweenhumans and wildlife can lead to coronavirusinfections in people.
The teamcentered its research in areas where humans were most likely to come into closecontact with localwildlife. Among the team members were representatives from Myanmargovernment agencies.
Theresearchers collected 759 samples of saliva and waste from bats inthe areas from May 2016 to August 2018. After examining the samples, theyidentified the six new kinds of coronavirus. The team also discovered acoronavirus found in other parts of Southeast Asia, but never before inMyanmar.
Marc Valituttois a former wildlife veterinarian with the Smithsonian’s GlobalHealth Program. He was the lead writer of the study. He said in a statementthat widespread disease outbreaks like COVID-19 should“remind us how closely human health is connected to the health of wildlife andthe environment.”
“The goalis to prevent the virus from getting into humans in the first place,”Valitutto told SmithsonianMagazine.
He addedthat future research will seek to learn more about how coronaviruses behave inanimals. For example, what permits the viruses to mutate and spreadto other species. Such research can help reduce the possibility offuture pandemics, Valitutto said.
SuzanMurray is the director of the Smithsonian’s Global Health Program. She saidmany coronaviruses do not present risks to humans. However, she notedidentifying them early on in animals can be an effective way to investigatepossible disease threats. “Vigilant surveillance, research and education arethe best tools we have to prevent pandemics before they occur,” Murray said.
Questions:
1. From what kind animal were the sixnew coronaviruses?
2. Are they similar to the coronavirusthat affects many parts of the world?
3. What was the aim of the Smithsonianteam?
4. What does zoonotic mean?
5. How many percent of the diseasescame from animals?
6. Why did Suzan Murray stress theimportance of detecting the risk earlier befor it spread?