The prime suspect 新冠状病毒的爆发真是蝙蝠的错? As the novel coronavirus ( 冠状病毒) spreads throughout China and the rest of the world, an important question has yet to be answered: where did the virus come from? The latest study indicated that pangolins ( 穿山甲) may be an intermediate host of virus, according to Xinhua. However, bats are suspected to be the original cause. “We don’t know the source yet, but there’s pretty strong evidence that this is a bat origin coronavirus,” said Peter Dazsak, president of EcoHealth Alliance, an environmental nonprofit ( 非营利机构), according to The New York Times. 1 “When you look at the genetic sequence ( 基因序列) of the virus, and you match it up with every known coronavirus, the closest ones are from bats,” Dazsak also told CNN. So why are bats the source of so many deadly kinds of viruses and why don’t they suffer from any symptoms ( 症状)? Bats are mammals (哺乳动物) that have a long lifespan (寿命) and live with millions of other bats in caves, where they can potentially spread the virus far and wide. As the only flying mammal, their body temperature is high, similar to a fever. It’s this fact that may contribute to bats’ unique immune system (免疫系统) in protecting them from the ill effects of viruses. It’s curious to note that the virus outbreak was traced to the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, a place where no bats were sold. How could this be? “It seems likely that another animal host is acting as an intermediate host between bats and humans,” said Wu Guizhen, of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, according to Live Science. But are bats truly to blame for the virus or should we be blaming ourselves? It’s the fault ( 错误) of humans for decreasing the distance between us and virus-carrying bats. Bats are an important animal in our ecosystem (生态系统) when it comes to pollinating (授粉) many fruits such as mangoes, bananas and avocados. We need to allow them to continue pollination and keep them away from our markets and mouths. BY MATT SADOWSKI, 21ST CENTURY TEENS STAFF 1.What can we learn about the origin of COVID-19?