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New research published in Cell found a bat-infecting coronavirus can enter human cells in a similar way to COVID-19.
Dr Samuel Ellis, Research Fellow, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (GOS ICH), University College London (UCL), said:
“Virologists have been studying coronaviruses in bats and mammals for a long time, with the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrating the significant risks if such viruses evolve the ability to infect humans. This latest study has identified a new member of the coronavirus family that is able to infect some cells by targeting the human ACE2 receptor, similar to SARS-CoV-2. This similarity means it should be further studied as part of surveillance for future threats, but the researchers do highlight that this virus is currently suboptimal for human adaptation and not to exaggerate any immediate risk. Furthermore, this research only showed infection of cells in the lab not animals or humans, and promisingly they found that antibody and antiviral drug therapies developed for COVID-19 could also be effective against this new virus. This sort of study is an example of the important work scientists are performing around the world to identify risks early and develop countermeasures to try and prevent future viral pandemic threats.”
Prof Simon Clarke, Associate Professor in Cellular Microbiology, University of Reading, said:
“The finding of another bat coronavirus that gains entry human and animal cells by unlocking them in the same way as Covid-19 is naturally of concern and will worry people, but it shouldn’t be all that surprising. This way of accessing cells is probably far more common than we realise, and the more scientists look for these things, the more examples they’re likely to find. Many viral infections in humans are of animal origin, so it’s important that we keep improving our understanding of possible future threats.
“We shouldn’t get too hung up on what is just one part of the way the virus interacts with our bodies; things are much more complicated. This coronavirus is more closely related to the one that caused MERS which was never able to spread as quickly and efficiently as SARS or Covid-19 and so far, there’s no indication that this one would be any different.”
Prof Paul Hunter, Professor in Medicine, University of East Anglia, said:
“There are very many different coronaviruses infecting bats worldwide, probably over 3,000 [1] All of these have the potential to develop into a human pathogen.
“But that does not mean they will cause significant health problems in human populations. I really doubt that covid will be the last pandemic due to an emergent coronavirus from bats. But whether that in in 10, 20, 50 or 100 years from now I would not like to guess.
“For a bat coronavirus to cause a pandemic in humans there needs to be a number of events.
“1, The virus has to infected at least one human either directly from a bat or more likely indirectly through another intermediate mammal like the civet cat in the 2005 SARS pandemic, camels with MERS, or possibly pangolins with covid. The involvement of an intermediate animal probably increases the amount of virus compared to what would be found in bats.
“2, The virus has to then spread to other people, more likely in crowded cities then in remote rural communities
“3, The virus needs to evolve to be more transmissible in humans. I suspect most animal to human transmission events do not spread to more than the occasional further cases. But if the virus evolves to be more infectious then we can have a problem.
“So, is HKU5-CoV-2 something we need to worry about? Not specifically. But we do need to remain vigilant about all coronaviruses. At some point a coronavirus will trigger another pandemic, maybe not in the next few decades. When that does happen will it be HKU5-CoV-2? Again probably not but it may be.”
Dr Efstathious Giotis, Lecturer in Molecular Virology, University of Essex, said:
“Scientists have identified a new bat coronavirus, HKU5-CoV-2, in China that can bind to human ACE2 receptors, the same entry point used by SARS-CoV-2 that causes Covid-19. HKU5-CoV-2 belongs to a different group of coronaviruses than SARS-CoV-2 called merbecoviruses, which include the MERS virus (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome). Until now, merbecoviruses were not known to use ACE2 as a receptor, making this discovery scientifically significant.
Can it cause an epidemic?
“There is no evidence that HKU5-CoV-2 can cause an epidemic in humans. While it can bind to human ACE2 receptors, its ability to do so appears weaker than SARS-CoV-2, making infection less likely. There are no known human cases, and no proof of human-to-human transmission.”
Shall we be concerned?
“There is no cause for concern at this stage. The study was conducted in laboratory conditions, and there is no evidence that HKU5-CoV-2 is circulating in humans or if it’s able to spread among humans. Its ability to bind to ACE2 appears weaker than SARS-CoV-2, making human infection less likely. Therefore, HKU5-CoV-2 is not an immediate threat, but its ability to use ACE2 means it should be closely monitored.”
Dr Gary R McLean, Honorary Senior Research Fellow, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, said:
“The study in Cell is from virology groups in China that study bat coronaviruses that have potential for the jump into humans. They are based in Wuhan and Guangzhou, where previous coronavirus spillovers to human have occurred. Interestingly this newly discovered virus lineage (HKU5-CoV-2), despite evolving in bats, can effectively use human entry receptor protein ACE2 for infection of human cells and tissues. However, these are biochemical studies that show the potential for this new bat virus to infect humans cells and there is no evidence for this occurring in nature. Thus there is the potential for this new virus to spillover to human like previous coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2. Hopefully the Chinese authorities now have good surveillance systems in place and the laboratories work to rigid safety standards that minimise the risk of spillover occurring. This paper does suggest that bat coronaviruses can evolve to use human entry receptors for infection, sidestepping the traditional route of amplification via an intermediate species – yet to be unequivocally found for SARS-CoV-2.”
‘Bat-infecting merbecovirus HKU5-CoV lineage 2 can use human ACE2 as a cell entry receptor’ by Chen et al. was published in Cell on Tuesday 18th February.
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.01.042
Declared interests
Dr Samuel Ellis “I have no direct COIs to declare on this news/study, but have been involved in some previous COVID-19 trials of antiviral drugs, such as PANORAMIC (NIHR).”
Dr Gary R McLean None
Prof Paul Hunter None
Dr Efstathious Giotis None
For all other experts, no reply to our request for DOIs was received.