I'd like to add to to your statement.
The entire quote which this article branches on reads:
> “The presence of a large reservoir of SARS-CoV-like viruses in horseshoe bats, together with the culture of eating exotic animals in southern China, is a time bomb.”
I'd say that the second part of that statement carries more importance then the exact type of virus and the specific research on that type.
I'm no virologist, but if the barrage of news from the last few months have taught me anything, it's that the actions of humans are a big factor in increasing the probability of any type of outbreak. Sure, researching specific families and types of viruses gives us valuable insights. But in and of themselves, tying that knowledge into a larger interdisciplinary framework and translating that then into socio-economic policies, safety guidelines, legal frameworks,... is really important.
Going back to the quote above, this Vox piece does a great job explaining that side of the equation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPpoJGYlW54
The entire quote which this article branches on reads:
> “The presence of a large reservoir of SARS-CoV-like viruses in horseshoe bats, together with the culture of eating exotic animals in southern China, is a time bomb.”
I'd say that the second part of that statement carries more importance then the exact type of virus and the specific research on that type.
I'm no virologist, but if the barrage of news from the last few months have taught me anything, it's that the actions of humans are a big factor in increasing the probability of any type of outbreak. Sure, researching specific families and types of viruses gives us valuable insights. But in and of themselves, tying that knowledge into a larger interdisciplinary framework and translating that then into socio-economic policies, safety guidelines, legal frameworks,... is really important.
Going back to the quote above, this Vox piece does a great job explaining that side of the equation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPpoJGYlW54