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Monitoring the origins and transmission/spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Laos and Vietnam: searching for SARS-like viruses and detecting antibodies in vertebrates

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Collaborative project between the Institut Pasteur in Paris, the Institut Pasteur du Laos and the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology in Vietnam.

Aims: 

- to search for other SARS-like coronaviruses in various vertebrates and arthropods.
A metagenomic analysis will be carried out using next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies on selected samples.

- to detect past coronavirus infections in animals and humans exposed to the virus.
This research will use antibody tests specifically developed within the Institut Pasteur's coronavirus task force for SARS-CoV-2, adapting them to the newly identified coronaviruses.

The project complements (and it is conducted in conjunction with) a project at the Institut Pasteur du Laos: "Origins, natural reservoirs and interspecies transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and other SARS-like coronaviruses" (ONRITS) (see project 12), which aims to improve understanding of the origins, natural history and dissemination of SARS-CoV-2 and other SARS-like CoVs in their natural environment, as well as potential bat-to-bat, bat-to-animal and bat-to-human transmission mechanisms.