What is HKU5-CoV-2, the new bat Coronavirus capable of infecting humans discovered in China?
The discovery of HKU5 coronavirus lineage (HKU5-CoV-2) in bats was led by Shi Zhengli, the Chinese virologist known as the ˇ°batwomanˇ± due to her research on bat coronaviruses. Like SARS-CoV-2, the bat virus HKU5-CoV-2 contains a feature known as the furin cleavage site that helps it to enter cells.
China, where the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the coronavirus, originated in 2019, has identified a similar virus that could also infect humans. The newly discovered bat coronavirus, HKU5-CoV-2, also uses the same cell-surface protein to gain entry into human cells as the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.
CREDIT: REUTERS
Discovery made by China's batwoman
The discovery of the distinct HKU5 coronavirus lineage (HKU5-CoV-2) in bats was led by Shi Zhengli, the Chinese virologist known as the ˇ°batwomanˇ± due to her research on bat coronaviruses. Researchers from the Guangzhou Academy of Sciences, Wuhan University, and the Wuhan Institute of Virology were also part of the study.
CREDIT: REUTERS
How HKU5-CoV-2 could infect humans
Though the HKU5-CoV-2 could potentially infect humans, the study noted that it does not enter human cells as readily as SARS-CoV-2 does.
The scientists said that, like SARS-CoV-2, the bat virus HKU5-CoV-2 contains a feature known as the furin cleavage site that helps it to enter cells via the ACE2 receptor protein on cell surfaces.
CREDIT: SCIENCE DIRECT
The researchers found that when the virus was isolated from bat samples, it could infect human cells as well as artificially grown masses of cells or tissue that resembled miniaturised respiratory or intestinal organs.
In lab experiments, they noted that the HKU5-CoV-2 infected human cells with high ACE2 levels in test tubes and in models of human intestines and airways.
In further experiments, the researchers identified monoclonal antibodies and antiviral drugs that target the bat virus.
Risk of more zoonotic spillovers
Zoonotic spillover, where viruses spread from wild animals to humans, is believed to be responsible for the outbreaks of SARS, MERS, and COVID-19.
CREDIT: BCCL
The dangers of such zoonotic spillover events became most evident in 2019 when SARS-CoV-2, a coronavirus found in bats, started infecting humans in China's Wuhan. It is believed to have spread from the wet markets of Wuhan, while others argue that the virus leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The spread of COVID-19 also exposed the risk of more such zoonotic spillover events in the future due to increased contact between humans and animals in the wild.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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