According to a study by researchers in Guangzhou, China, the pangolin – a long-snouted ant-eating mammal often used in traditional Chinese medicine – could be the intermediate host of SARS-CoV-2 if the this is judged by the 99% genetic homology achieved between a coronavirus discovered in pangolins and SARS-CoV-2.
Kwa mujibu wa utafiti fulani, watafiti walio Guangzhou, China, walipendekeza kwamba kakakuona mwenye pua refu, wanyama wanaokula mchwa ambao wametumika kijadi kama dawa ya Kichina - wana uwezekano mkubwa wa kubeba virusi vya SARS-CoV-2 kulingana na 99% ya homojia ya kijenetiki katika CoV vilivyogunduliwa ndani ya kakakuona na SARS-CoV-2.