International Journal of Engineering Applied Sciences and Technology, 2020 Vol. 4, Issue 12, ISSN No. 2455-2143, Pages 440-442 Published Online April 2020 in IJEAST (http://www.ijeast.com) 440 PANGOLIN: “MISSING LINK OR INTERMEDIATE HOST” BETWEEN RESERVOIR HOST AND HUMAN POPULATION Ashwini A Mankar Vijay S Harode Assistant Professor Assistant Professor Department of Biotechnology Department of Biotechnology Kamla Nehru Mahavidyalaya, Nagpur Kamla Nehru Mahavidyalaya, Nagpur ABSTRACT: Newly emerging viral diseases are major threats to public health. In particular, viruses from wildlife hosts have caused such emerging high-impact diseases as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Ebola fever, Nipahvirus and Influenza in humans. The emergence of all these and many other human diseases occurred when an established animal virus switched hosts into humans and was subsequently transmitted within human populations, while host transfers between different animal hosts lead to the analogous emergence of epizootic diseases. The importance of viral host switching is underscored by the recent avian epizootics of high-pathogenicity strains of H5N1 influenza A, in which hundreds of “spillover” human cases and deaths have been documented which suggests that for the transmission of the virus, it definitely requires a possible intermediate host before it could infect human population (SPILLOVER) from its reservoir host containing many different types of viruses. In search of in search of intermediate host or source of COVID19 the latest candidate is the Pangolin, an endangered, scaly, ant eating mammal that is imported in huge numbers to Chinese markets for food and medicine. In this review we will see the reasons responsible for making the Pangolin as a link responsible for acting as an intermediate host. Keywords: Spillover, Pangolin, Epizootic I. INTRODUCTION Pangolins, or scaly anteaters are mammals of the order Pholidota .The extant family, Manidae, has three genera: Manis, Phataginus and Smutsia. Manis comprises the four species found in Asia, while Phataginus and Smutsia each include two species living in Sub-Saharan Africa. [Gaudin, T. (2009)] These species range in size from 30 to 100 cm (12 to 39 in). The Malayan pangolin (Manisjavanica), a representative mammal species of the order Pholidota, is one of the only eight pangolin species worldwide. Four of them are from Asia (M. javanica, M. pentadactyla, M. crassicaudata and M. culionensis), whereas another four from Africa (M. tricuspis, M. tetradactyla, M. gigantea and M. temminckii) [Gaudin, et al. (2009)]. A number of extinct pangolin species are also known. As of January 2020, of the eight species of pangolin, three (Manisculionensis, M. pentadactyla and M. javanica) are listed as critically endangered, 3 are (Phataginustricuspis, Maniscrassicaudata and Smutsiagigantea) endangered and 2 (Phataginustetradactyla and Smutsiatemminckii) are listed as vulnerable on the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.(Hance, J. (2014). Pangolins have large, protective keratin scales covering their skin; they are the only known mammals with this feature. They live in hollow trees or burrows, depending on the species. Pangolins are nocturnal, and their diet consists of mainly ants and termites, which they capture using their long tongues.[Spearman, R.I.C. (2008), Wilson, A. E. (1994)]. They tend to be solitary animals, meeting only to mate and produce a litter of one to three offspring, which they raise for about two years. They certainly are one of the most trafficked mammals in Asia and, increasingly, Africa. Pangolins are in high demand in countries like China and Vietnam. Their meat is considered a delicacy and pangolin scales are used in traditional medicine and folk remedies. All eight pangolin species are protected under national and international laws. But there is still growing international illegal trade in pangolins. [Hance, J. (2014), Challender et al. (2019), Actman, J. (2015), Ingram et al. (2018)]  Genetic similarity: ENOUGH TO MAKE PANGOLIN AS THE CANDIDATE RESPONSIBLE FOR ACTING AS INTERMEDIATE HOST??? As the virus is spreading around the world, it might find entirely new intermediate hosts outside of China. We don’t know. “It is something every country needs to be thinking about as the epidemics wind down.” Corona viruses are notoriously promiscuous. Bats host thousands of types without succumbing to illness, and the viruses have the potential to leap to new species (intermediate host). Sometimes they mutate along the way to adapt to their