Not this shit again
A new bat coronavirus that has the capacity to spread to humans, similar to the one that caused the COVID-19 pandemic, has been discovered.
HKU5-CoV-2 was found by a Chinese research team led by virologist Shi Zhengli, known as "Batwoman" for her work on coronaviruses, especially at the Wuhan Institute, which has been at the center of the theory suggesting COVID-19 came from a lab leak—something Shi has denied.
Newsweek has contacted Shi for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Hundreds of coronaviruses exist but only a few can infect humans, including SARS, SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome).
This new one (HKU5-CoV-2) uses the ACE2 receptor to infect organisms—SARS-CoV-2 also uses the ACE2 receptor for infection.
What is HKU5-CoV-2?
HKU5-CoV-2 is a coronavirus belonging to the merbecovirusgroup, which also includes the virus that causes MERS.
It has a higher potential to infect humans than other coronaviruses because of the way it binds to human ACE2, making it similar to SARS-CoV-2 and NL63 (a common cold virus).
Researchers came to this conclusion after using a technique called Cryo-EM, which uses a powerful microscope.
HKU5-CoV-2 was able to infect human cell cultures in the mini-human organ models the scientists used.
"Bat merbecoviruses, which are phylogenetically related to MERS-CoV, pose a high risk of spillover to humans, either through direct transmission or facilitated by intermediate hosts," the study says.
www.newsweek.com
A new bat coronavirus that has the capacity to spread to humans, similar to the one that caused the COVID-19 pandemic, has been discovered.
HKU5-CoV-2 was found by a Chinese research team led by virologist Shi Zhengli, known as "Batwoman" for her work on coronaviruses, especially at the Wuhan Institute, which has been at the center of the theory suggesting COVID-19 came from a lab leak—something Shi has denied.
Newsweek has contacted Shi for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Hundreds of coronaviruses exist but only a few can infect humans, including SARS, SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome).
This new one (HKU5-CoV-2) uses the ACE2 receptor to infect organisms—SARS-CoV-2 also uses the ACE2 receptor for infection.
What is HKU5-CoV-2?
HKU5-CoV-2 is a coronavirus belonging to the merbecovirusgroup, which also includes the virus that causes MERS.
It has a higher potential to infect humans than other coronaviruses because of the way it binds to human ACE2, making it similar to SARS-CoV-2 and NL63 (a common cold virus).
Researchers came to this conclusion after using a technique called Cryo-EM, which uses a powerful microscope.
HKU5-CoV-2 was able to infect human cell cultures in the mini-human organ models the scientists used.
"Bat merbecoviruses, which are phylogenetically related to MERS-CoV, pose a high risk of spillover to humans, either through direct transmission or facilitated by intermediate hosts," the study says.
New coronavirus discovered in Chinese bats sparks alarm
The virus binds to humans in a similar way to the virus that causes COVID-19.
www.newsweek.com
