SINGAPORE, February 9. /TASS/. The international group of scientists has discovered traces of the SARS-CoV-2 strain in bats dwelling outside China. Thus, according to director of the program in emerging infectious diseases of the National University of Singapore Linfa Wang, it is possible to say that the virus was imported to China’s Wuhan from somewhere else. "It’s almost impossible to imagine this virus came from Wuhan," he stated earlier.

According to research published on Tuesday as co-authored by the Singaporean scientist, a 96.2%-similar strain was also discovered in bats in China’s Yunnan and a strain with a 91.2% overlap was found in bats in Thailand.

The researchers used serological tests in order to detect the presence of antibodies similar to SARS-CoV-2 in bats and pangolins. This method is used to establish the presence of the virus in the past yet does not detect it in the present. As a result, four out of 98 species displayed a high level of antibodies, the study points out. At the same time the experts could not fully study the pangolins due to their protected status in Thailand.

The scientists also noted that horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus hipposideros) inhabit not only Asia but also Australia and Europe.