Is another pandemic breastfeeding? What do we know about the new bat virus HKU5-COV-2? Explained

Last updated:February 24, 2025, 09:21 is

So far there are no cases in which HKU5-COV-2 infection of bats has been handed over to humans. Experts say

Can the new bat virus HKU5-COV-2 lead to a different pandemic? According to Chinese researchers, the new Coronavirus may transfer animals to humans and has once again lost concerns about the possibility of a different pandemic, similar to Covid-19.

However, news18 spoke to a few experts in India who have excluded an immediate threat and said that the new virus requires surveillance.

What does the study show about the new virus?

The study published in the medical journal 'Cell' shows a significant descent of HKU5-COVs in bats that use the human ACE2 efficiently and underline its potential zoonotic risk.

The study was carried out by a team of researchers, which is headed by Zheng-Li Shi by the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. Zheng-Li Shi is known to a well-known virologist as a “Batwoman”, which in 2003 has a key role in pursuing the origins of outbreaks such as heavy acute breathing syndrome (SARS) in 2003, the nearby Eastern Automatic Syndrome (Mers) in 2012 and recently played Coronavirus.

The study says that a pronounced HKU5 Coronavirus line (HKU5-COV-2) is discovered in bats. However, no such case has been reported to humans yet.

“Here we reported on the discovery of the HKU5-COV line 2 (HKU5-COV-2) in bats that use human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as a functional receptor and have a wide host tropism. However, the potential human spillover risk for animal merbecoviruses still has to be examined, ”says the study.

Do the viruses develop?

According to Indian health experts, HKU5-COV has so far not been easily infected because they used another mechanism mechanism to get into cells. However, it has been shown that this newly identified HKU5-COV-2 line connects to human ACE 2 receptors proteins that act as entry points for viruses in the cells of the lungs and intestines.

“This virus can also bind to the ACE 2 receptors of other animals, which means that it may be able to spread between animals and humans,” said Dr. Rajeev Jayadevan, convener, scientific committee and former president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Cochin.

A few years ago, they found a group of coronaviruses in Hong Kong bats, referred to as HKU5-COV and belonged to the Merbevvirus-Unit, which also caused the virus, which MERS has caused which SARS-COV-2 virus, “added Jayadevan .

Dr. Anurag Agrawal, Dean, Biosciences and Health Research, Tivedi School of Biosciences at Ashoka University, said News18 that the study shows that there are more viruses in the animal world that can jump on people. “It is an important and good job to show a new one, but nothing radically new about risks.”

This study also serves as a memory that viruses that circulate in Wildlie -Pandemie Risks. “One way to reduce the likelihood of such outbreaks is to reduce human contact with wild animals, especially bats. If you keep different types of animals in the same cage, viruses can also jump over species and acquire new genetic changes, ”emphasized Jayadevan.

While the researchers have not reported a human infection with this virus, experts point out that the discovery emphasizes how viruses develop and achieve new skills, sometimes by recombination or mixing genes with other viruses.

For example, it is assumed that the Sars-Cov-2 virus is originally a bat virus that jumped over several ways and finally gains skills in order to infect and spread in humans. “The raccoon dog, a fox-like animal that is housed in cages together with other animals in China in China, is assumed by some scientists as an intermediate host between humans and bats in the case of Covid-19,” emphasized Jayadevan.

How dangerous is the new virus?

According to the health expert Dr. Sanjeev Bagai, chairman of the Nephron Clinic, is very similar to the HKU5-COV-2 virus to change the breath of the Middle East (Mers).

“So far there are no cases in which an HKU5-COV infection of bats has been handed over to humans. In addition, there are not many mutations in the virus, and the transferability risk is also low. The virus is less contagious and less pathogen. “

“While we still have limited information about the virus and measure the available information, there seems to be no reason for immediate concern or threat,” he added.

Dr. KS Uplabdh Gopal, an Associate Fellow in a Think Tank, the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), said, despite the ability of the virus to bind to the human ACE2, he does not ring near Sars-Cov-2 efficiency.

“Such studies exist to prevent future outbreaks and not to cause them. It does not mean that every new bat virus is the next global catastrophe “Efficiency is weak compared to the original Sars -Cov2,” he added.