Coronavirus surveillance of wildlife in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic detects viral RNA in rodents

Coronaviruses can become zoonotic, as in the case of COVID-19, and hunting, sale, and consumption of wild animals in Southeast Asia increases the risk for such incidents. We sampled and tested rodents (851) and other mammals and found betacoronavirus RNA in 12 rodents. The sequences belong to two separate genetic clusters and are closely related to those of known rodent coronaviruses detected in the region and distantly related to those of human coronaviruses OC43 and HKU1. Considering the close human-wildlife contact with many species in and beyond the region, a better understanding of virus diversity is urgently needed for the mitigation of future risks.