In 2007 a study from the University of Hong Kong described 36 known #coronaviruses in the family Coronaviridae within the order Nidovirales. Members of the Coronaviridae are known to cause #respiratory or #intestinal infections in humans and other animals.
Back then this study made the following prediction :
“The presence of a large reservoir of SARS-CoV-like #viruses in horseshoe bats, together with the culture of eating exotic mammals in southern China, is a time bomb.
The possibility of the reemergence of #SARS and other novel #viruses from animals or laboratories and therefore the need for preparedness should not be ignored”
“The findings that horseshoe bats are the natural reservoir for SARS-CoV-like virus and that civets are the amplification host highlight the importance of wildlife and #biosecurity in farms and wet markets, which can serve as the source and amplification centers for emerging.
Source: https://cmr.asm.org/content/20/4/660.long