By Kevin E. Noonan — The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the most severe since the 1918 influenza pandemic (colloquially known as the Spanish Flu; see, J. Barry, The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, Penguin Books; Revised ed. edition (October 4, 2005)). The geographic origins of the virus in Wuhan, China is well-established for the pandemic, but the biological origin is less well understood (although bats are the most likely culprit). Coronaviruses have arisen in bats, pigs, and cattle and one species, HCov-OC43 from cattle or swine, was responsible…
