Chinese scientists have allegedly ‘discovered’ a new ‘bat’ coronavirus, HKU5-CoV-2, that has the potential to infect humans. Researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology claim to have identified the strain in bats and have detailed their findings in a prominent scientific journal.
This new “discovery” follows the U.S. intelligence community’s recent reassessment, which shifted its stance to suggest that COVID-19 likely originated from a Wuhan lab leak rather than bat transmission, raising questions about the true source of this new strain.
HKU5-CoV-2 shares similarities with both SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID-19, and MERS, a more lethal coronavirus with a fatality rate of up to one-third of infected individuals. Tests showed that HKU5-CoV-2 can enter human cells using the same mechanism as the COVID-19 virus, prompting researchers to warn of its “high risk of spillover to humans, either through direct transmission or facilitated by intermediate hosts.”
MERS, a respiratory illness that can spread from animals to humans and between humans, causes severe symptoms such as fever, cough, and shortness of breath, with no vaccine currently available. In the U.S., only two cases of MERS have ever been recorded, both linked to travel from the Middle East.
The newly identified HKU5-CoV-2 belongs to the merbecovirus family, which supposedly has been found in animals such as minks and pangolins—species that were once suspected of playing a role in the transmission of COVID-19 from bats to humans. Scientists noted that their findings “suggest frequent cross-species transmission of these viruses between bats and other animal species,” emphasizing the virus’s potential zoonotic threat.
While HKU5-CoV viruses were first detected in bats in 2006, this latest strain appears to have a greater ability to infect other species. Researchers noted that further investigation is needed to determine its full potential to spread to humans.
