Editing Pangolin (section)

== Virology ==
=== COVID-19 infection ===
{{See also|Origin of SARS-CoV-2}}

The [[nucleic acid sequence]] of a specific receptor-binding domain of the [[coronavirus spike protein|spike protein]] belonging to [[coronavirus]]es taken from pangolins was found to be a 99% match with SARS coronavirus 2 ([[SARS-CoV-2]]), the virus which causes [[COVID-19]] and is responsible for the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref name="Cyranoski-2020">{{Cite journal |last=Cyranoski |first=David |date=7 February 2020 |title=Did pangolins spread the China coronavirus to people? |journal=Nature |doi=10.1038/d41586-020-00364-2 |pmid=33547428 |s2cid=212825975}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=P. |last2=Chen |first2=W. |last3=Chen |first3=J.-P. |title=Viral Metagenomics Revealed Sendai Virus and Coronavirus Infection of Malayan Pangolins (Manis javanica) |journal=Viruses |year=2019 |volume=11 |issue=11 |page=979 |doi=10.3390/v11110979 |pmid=31652964 |pmc=6893680|doi-access=free }}</ref> Researchers in [[Guangzhou]], China, hypothesized that SARS-CoV-2 had originated in bats, and prior to infecting humans, was circulating among pangolins. The illicit Chinese trade of pangolins for use in [[traditional Chinese medicine]] was suggested as a [[Vector (epidemiology)|vector]] for human transmission.<ref name="Cyranoski-2020"/><ref name="Live">{{cite web |url=https://www.livescience.com/first-case-coronavirus-found.html |title=1st known case of coronavirus traced back to November in China |first1=Jeanna |last1=Bryner |publisher=[[LiveScience]] |date=15 March 2020 |access-date=15 March 2020}}</ref> However, whole-genome comparison found that the pangolin and human [[Template:SARS-CoV-2 related coronavirus|coronaviruses]] share only up to 92% of their RNA.<ref name="Nature-coronavirus-mystery">{{cite journal|last1=Xiao|first1=Kangpeng|last2=Zhai|first2=Junqiong|last3=Feng|first3=Yaoyu|last4=Zhou|first4=Niu|last5=Zhang|first5=Xu|last6=Zou|first6=Jie-Jian|last7=Li|first7=Na|last8=Guo|first8=Yaqiong|last9=Li|first9=Xiaobing|last10=Shen|first10=Xuejuan|last11=Zhang|first11=Zhipeng|date=7 May 2020|title=Isolation of SARS-CoV-2-related coronavirus from Malayan pangolins|journal=Nature|volume=583|issue=7815|pages=286–289|bibcode=2020Natur.583..286X|doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2313-x|pmid=32380510|doi-access=free|last15=Zhang|first22=Fang-Hui|last12=Shu|first12=Fanfan|last13=Huang|first13=Wangyi|first14=Yu|first25=Yongyi|last25=Shen|first24=Lihua|last24=Xiao|first23=Wu|last23=Chen|last22=Hou|first15=Ziding|first21=Qin-Hui|last21=Cai|first20=Wei-Jun|last20=Xie|first19=Mian|last19=Huang|first18=Shi-Ming|last18=Peng|first17=Ya-jiang|last17=Wu|first16=Rui-Ai|last16=Chen|last14=Li}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Tao |last2=Wu |first2=Qunfu |last3=Zhang |first3=Zhigang |title=Probable Pangolin Origin of SARS-CoV-2 Associated with the COVID-19 Outbreak |journal=Current Biology |date=19 March 2020 |volume=30 |issue=7 |pages=1346–1351.e2 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2020.03.022 |pmid=32197085 |pmc=7156161|bibcode=2020CBio...30E1346Z }}</ref> Ecologists worried that the early speculation about pangolins being the source may have led to mass slaughters, endangering them further, which was similar to what happened to [[Asian palm civet]]s during the [[SARS]] outbreak.<ref name="Nature-coronavirus-mystery"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/civet-cat-slaughter-to-fight-sars |title=Civet Cat Slaughter To Fight SARS |publisher=CBSNews |date=11 January 2004 |access-date=28 February 2020}}</ref> It was later proved that the testing which suggested that pangolins were a potential host for the virus was flawed, when [[genetic analysis]] showed that the [[Coronavirus spike protein|spike protein]] and its binding to receptors in pangolins had minimal effect from the virus, and therefore were not likely mechanisms for COVID-19 infections in humans.<ref name="Partin">{{cite journal | last=Partin | first=Clyde | title=Etymologia: ''Sunda pangolin'' | journal=Emerging Infectious Diseases | publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | volume=27 | issue=7 | year=2021 | issn=1080-6040 | doi=10.3201/eid2707.et2707 |pmc=8237879 | pages=1810| s2cid=235775122 }}</ref>

=== ''Pestivirus'' and ''Coltivirus'' ===
In 2020, two novel RNA viruses distantly related to [[pestivirus]]es and [[coltivirus]]es have been detected in the genomes of dead ''Manis javanica'' and ''Manis pentadactyla''.<ref name="Gao2020">{{Cite journal |last1=Gao |first1=Wen-Hua |last2=Lin |first2=Xian-Dan |last3=Chen |first3=Yan-Mei |last4=Xie |first4=Chun-Gang |last5=Tan |first5=Zhi-Zhou |last6=Zhou |first6=Jia-Jun |last7=Chen |first7=Shuai |last8=Holmes |first8=Edward C |author-link8=Edward C. Holmes |last9=Zhang |first9=Yong-Zhen |author-link9=Zhang Yongzhen |date=1 January 2020 |title=Newly identified viral genomes in pangolins with fatal disease |journal=Virus Evolution |language=en |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=veaa020 |doi=10.1093/ve/veaa020 |pmid=32296543 |pmc=7151644}}</ref> To refer to both sampling site and hosts, they were named Dongyang pangolin virus (DYPV) and Lishui pangolin virus (LSPV). The DYPV pestivirus was also identified in ''[[Amblyomma javanense]]'' nymph [[tick]]s from a diseased pangolin.<ref name="Gao2020"/>