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 For media inquiries please contact: Anthony M. Ramos |
EMBARGOED: 2PM Eastern Time, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2005 Origin Of Sars Identified: Bats, Not CivetsDefinitive Paper on Breakthrough Slated for Publication: September 29
NEW YORK - Scientists at the Consortium for Conservation Medicine (CCM), based at Wildlife Trust, in collaboration with Chinese and Australian colleagues, have discovered that SARS originated in bats, not civets, as once believed. Dr. Peter Daszak, Executive Director of the CCM and Dr. Jonathan Epstein, Senior Research Scientist and veterinary epidemiologist at the CCM, are contributing authors on the definitive paper, "Bats Are Natural Reservoirs of SARS-like Coronaviruses," slated for publication on Thursday, September 29 in Science Express, the online page of Science magazine. The paper also will be published in Scienceat a later date. The definitive paper identifies Chinese horseshoe bats as the reservoir for SARS, something other research has only suggested. We proved it by a far larger sampling than has been completed previously, from numerous sites in Mainland China, including the site where SARS first emerged. "This important research finding is a major breakthrough for the new field of Conservation Medicine, which is a new discipline that brings together health professionals and wildlife scientists to examine links between human, ecosystem, and animal health," according to Dr. Mary Pearl, President of Wildlife Trust and co-founder of the Consortium, which is based at Wildlife Trust's offices in New York. "We can now conclusively say that we know the origin of SARS, and like most other emerging diseases (including HIV/AIDS, monkeypox, West Nile virus and avian flu), the virus was transmitted from animals to people," Dr. Peter Daszak explains. "These diseases emerge because of human activities such as wildlife trade and global travel. Anytime you bring multiple species of animals together at high density and mix them with humans, you're setting the stage for pathogens to jump between species and for an outbreak to occur." Donald S. Burke, Professor of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, says, "Finding the ultimate source of the SARS coronavirus is the epidemiological equivalent of discovering the source of the Nile. The virus circulates in bats, spills into civets, and emerges into humans. Now it should be possible to interrupt that flow." Dr. Jonathan Epstein led the first collaborative expedition to China in March 2004, to survey bats for zoonotic pathogens, including the SARS coronavirus and Nipah virus. The team collected samples from bats caught in the wild from several regions as well as captive bats from live markets in Guangdong, where SARS originally emerged. Samples were sent to virology labs at the CSIRO, Australia and the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, to be tested for SARS-CoV and other pathogens. Dr. Epstein explains, "It's crucial to identify the reservoirs of these emerging pathogens so that we can understand how they emerged, and predict and prevent future outbreaks. Civets were originally thought to be the origin of SARS but most researchers realized that the true wildlife reservoir remained a mystery. Our role was to visit the outbreak site and other areas in China and search for this reservoir. We targeted bats because they are the source of other lethal pathogens that have recently emerged, and are part of the wildlife trade throughout Asia." Dr. Daszak coordinated the CCM's role in the international collaboration. The research team tested more than 400 bats, representing nine species, six genera and three families, from four locations in China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Hubei and Tianjin) to which the bats are native. The study was completed between March and December, 2004. RNA sequence data, phylogeny and serological evidence showed that a coronavirus (named "SARS-like-coronavirus Rp3", or SL-CoV Rp3, by the team) was found in three species of horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus species) and is the progenitor of both the civet and human SARS CoV. Dr. Pearl emphasizes the importance of understanding the ecology of emerging diseases, rather than simply blaming wildlife for spreading disease. "Wildlife populations can act as buffers against the spread of disease as well as sources for its emergence. Through providing a better understanding of how pathogens move among species, the field of Conservation Medicine gives us the tools we need to maintain healthy ecosystems that protect people and wildlife."
The CCM is a formal coalition of five scientific organizations: The Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, Harvard University's Center for Global Health and the Environment, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the US Geological Service's National Wildlife Health Center and Wildlife Trust. The CCM is a think-tank for the origin, prediction, and prevention of emerging diseases. The CCM enables scientists from a multitude of disciplines to collaborate on key issues of human, animal, and environmental health and conservation. www.conservationmedicine.org Wildlife Trust Wildlife Trust is an international organization dedicated to empowering local conservation scientists worldwide to protect nature and safeguard ecosystems and human health. Wildlife Trust is a pioneer in the field of conservation medicine. The Consortium for Conservation Medicine is based at Wildlife Trust, New York. www.wildlifetrust.org # # #
NOTED VIROLOGISTS AND DISEASE ECOLOGISTS COMMENT ON THE REPORT Professor Andrew P. Dobson - leading disease ecologist "This emphasizes the key role that Conservation organizations such as the Wildlife Trust and the CCM play in unravelling the key biological details behind the emergence of new diseases. Only these organizations have the facilities and combination of skilled personnel that make this kind of detailed detective work possible. It's key that we invest more in organizations like the Consortium for Conservation Medicine - only then will we have the tools to identify the sick canaries in the global coalmine. These organizations aren't only conserving biological diversity, they're helping protect humans from the changes they produce in the environment."
"This elegant report is a microbiological episode of CSI. Classical field work and state-of-the-art molecular surveillance technologies have been exploited by an international team of talented investigators to identify the origin of the SARS coronavirus. The findings are compelling as are the arguments implicating bats as reservoirs. This landmark paper illustrates the importance of focusing attention on diseases of wildlife. Zoonoses, defined as infections that jump species from animals to man, cause 70% of emerging infectious diseases and include such notable examples as influenza, west nile encephalitis, HIV/AIDS, lyme disease, and new variant CJD. We could and should prepare more effectively for current and future infectious disease threats with this type of medical intelligence." Contact list CCM Contact info: Dr. Peter Daszak, Executive Director, Project coordinator Dr. Jonathan Epstein, Senior Research Scientist, Veterinary Epidemiologist (Zoonotic Diseases) Collaborators
About Wildlife Trust Wildlife Trust empowers local conservation scientists worldwide to protect nature and safeguard ecosystem and human health. Wildlife Trust is a conservation science innovator and leverages research expertise through strategic global alliances. Wildlife Trust pioneered the field of Conservation Medicine, a new discipline that addresses the link between ecological disruption of habitats and the effects on wildlife, livestock and human health. Founded in 1971 by British naturalist and author Gerald Durrell, Wildlife Trust has built its reputation on 35 years of global research, education, training and experience. Research and conservation work in the United States include programs in the metropolitan New York area, Florida and along the coast of the Southeastern U.S. Internationally, Wildlife Trust trains and supports a network of scientists around the world to save endangered species and their habitats and to protect the health of vital ecosystems. Wildlife Trust created the first egalitarian international network of science-based conservation organizations called the Wildlife Trust Alliance and is a founding partner organization of the Consortium for Conservation Medicine, a unique think-tank of prestigious academic institutions.
Visit www.wildlifetrust.org to read more. Media Contact:
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