Another Covid-like scare? China discovers new bat coronavirus with potential of human transmission
PTC News Desk: After years long Covid scare, Chinese researchers have discovered a new bat coronavirus with a potential of animal-to-human transmission as it uses the same cell-surface protein to infiltrate cells as the SARS-CoV-2 virus that caused Covid-19.
The new virus discovered is known as HKU5-CoV-2 and study on the new virus, published in the scientific journal Cell, was conducted by prominent Chinese virologist Shi Zhengli, often referred to as the "batwoman" due to her extensive research on bat coronaviruses, at the Guangzhou Laboratory.
What is HKU5-CoV-2?
HKU5-CoV-2 is a coronavirus within the merbecovirus subgenus, which also includes the virus responsible for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). Researchers found that this new virus can attach to human ACE2, making it comparable to SARS-CoV-2 and NL63 (a common cold virus).
In laboratory tests, the team observed that HKU5-CoV-2 was capable of infecting human cell cultures in the mini-human organ models they utilized.
The scientists stated that, similar to SARS-CoV-2, the bat virus HKU5-CoV-2 has a furin cleavage site, a feature that aids its entry into cells through the ACE2 receptor protein on cell surfaces.
In laboratory experiments, HKU5-CoV-2 successfully infected human cells with high ACE2 levels in both test tubes and models of human intestines and airways.
Earlier this month, another study conducted by researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle and Wuhan University said that although the HKU5 strain could bind to bat and other mammalian ACE2 receptors, they did not detect “efficient” human binding.
- With inputs from agencies
