COVID-19, Hendra and SARS: How scientists trace viruses through animals to their source Posted TueTuesday 9 updated TueTuesday 9 FebFebruary 2021 at 11:55pm Virologists eventually figured out that civets and camels transmit SARS and MERS coronaviruses to humans, but the original source for both viruses was bats. ( Share Print text only Cancel The first mission to Wuhan in search of the source of SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — wrapped up this week. More than a dozen experts from around the world, including epidemiologists, veterinarians, medical doctors and virologists, spent the past fortnight looking for clues to the virus's origins. Last night, at a press conference, World Health Organization food safety and animal diseases expert Peter Ben Embarek said the coronavirus is unlikely to have leaked from a Chinese lab, and most probably jumped to humans via an intermediary species.