Covid pandemic is long over, but the risk of emerging viruses sparking another global outbreak remains. A novel coronavirus found in bats in Brazil has caught scientists’ attention. While it has similarities to the deadly Mers virusresearchers aren’t clear about the risk it poses to humans.
An article published in the Journal of Medical Virology (JMV) details the findings of the study conducted by researchers from the Brazilian states of São Paulo and Ceará, in collaboration with colleagues from Hong Kong University (HKU) in China, have discovered a new coronavirus in bats.
The virus found in South America bears close resemblance to Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), say the scientists.
MERS, or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, first identified in 2012, is a viral respiratory illness caused by the MERS-CoV, which can cause mild to severe symptoms. Some of the common MERS symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath. Pneumonia is also common in MERS patients but not all develop this condition. Gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea are also reported among MERS patients.
How the new coronavirus is similar to Mers-Cov
Scientists say the new virus found in Brazil has a genetic sequence with about 72 per cent similarity to the Mers-CoV genome. The spike protein of the new virus, which it uses to attach to host cells, shows 71.74 per cent similarity with the Mers virus spike protein.
“Right now we aren’t sure it can infect humans, but we detected parts of the virus’s spike protein [which binds to mammalian cells to start an infection] suggesting potential interaction with the receptor used by MERS-CoV. To find out more, we plan to conduct experiments in Hong Kong during the current year,” said Bruna Stefanie Silvério, first author of the article.
Scientists would conduct more experiments in Hong Kong this year to determine the risks posed by the new virus to humans.
“This monitoring helps identify circulating viruses and risks of transmission to other animals, and even to humans,” said Ricardo Durães-Carvalho, another author of the study.
Scientists examined 423 oral and rectal swabs from 16 different bat species and identified seven coronaviruses in samples collected from bats in Fortaleza, a city in northeastern Brazil. Notably, the newly discovered virus shares a “high similarity” with MERS-related coronaviruses found in humans and camels. Scientists also observed signs of genetic recombination, a process where viruses mix and evolve, potentially altering their infectious capabilities.
“Bats are important viral reservoirs and should therefore be submitted to continuous epidemiological surveillance. This monitoring helps identify circulating viruses and risks of transmission to other animals, and even to humans,” said Ricardo Durães-Carvalho, last author of the article, a professor at EPM-UNIFESP and Silvério’s thesis advisor.
According to scientists, the new study highlights the vital role of bats as reservoirs for emerging viruses and stresses the importance of continuous surveillance to track public health risks linked to coronaviruses.
“Our studies show the importance of making this type of analysis more systematic, optimised and integrated, with several sectors participating and generating data on unified platforms that can be used by health systems to monitor and even prevent epidemics and pandemics,” the researcher said.
