Scientists have discovered a new type of coronavirus in bats, raising concerns over the potential for another global pandemic.
The new strain, closely related to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus, has been found to possess certain characteristics that could allow it to infect human cells.
Researchers from Brazil and the University of Hong Kong made the discovery after conducting an extensive study, swabbing the mouths and rectums of bats to collect samples.
The findings suggest that the virus could be capable of infecting humans due to the unique composition of its spike protein, which is a key element that viruses like MERS and COVID-19 use to enter human cells.
While the virus has not yet been shown to infect humans directly, scientists have warned that its spike protein is similar to that of MERS-CoV, which has a 35% mortality rate.
This has prompted fears that the new strain may have the potential to trigger a deadly outbreak.
Dr. Bruna Silverio, lead researcher at the University of São Paulo, explained, “Right now, we aren’t sure it can infect humans.
But we detected parts of the virus’s spike protein, suggesting potential interaction with the receptor used by MERS-CoV.”
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The virus, along with six other new strains discovered during the study, is currently being transported to China for further analysis.
Tests will be conducted to determine if these viruses can infect human cells, despite concerns that similar experiments have previously been linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The discovery has raised alarms within the scientific community, as the potential for another zoonotic transmission event — where a virus jumps from animals to humans — remains a serious global health threat.
As the world continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, this new discovery has reignited fears of another viral outbreak.
