Researchers have found a virus poised to spread across the human populace with deadly results, according to a new study in the Proceedings in the National Academy of Sciences journal.
In the study, researchers revealed a virus related the SARS virus and found in Chinese horseshoe bats could infect humans in its current form.
Virus could jump to humans quickly
“The capacity of this group of viruses to jump into humans is greater than we originally thought,” study author Vineet Menachery, an epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina, said in press release. “While other adaptations may be required to produce an epidemic, several viral strains circulating in bat populations have already overcome the barrier of replication in human cells and suggest reemergence as a distinct possibility.”
In the study, researchers constructed viruses from viral DNA isolated from Chinese horseshoe bats, where SARS originated from, in order to assess their potential to infect human and mice cells. The study team was able to identify a virus they called WIV1-CoV that could connect to the same receptors as SARS. The study team also revealed the virus was able to efficiently thrive in cultured human airway tissues, indicating an ability to infect humans from the current bat hosts.
“To be clear, this virus may never jump to humans, but if it does, WIV1-CoV has the potential to seed a new outbreak with significant consequences for both public health and the global economy,” Menachery said.
The study team also found antibodies used to treat SARS were effective against WIV1-CoV, signaling a potential treatment option in the event of an outbreak. However, the researcher said scaling up production could be an issue in the event of an outbreak. Furthermore, genetic differences would prevent current vaccines against SARS from being effective against the newly-identified virus.
In the early 2000s, SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) caused nearly 800 deaths and a worldwide panic. The study team said WIV1-CoV could produce similar results.
“This type of work generates information about novel viruses circulating in animal populations and develops resources to help define the threat these pathogens may pose to human populations,” said study author Ralph Baric, a professor of epidemiology at UNC. “It’s important to note that it’s not an approach that’s limited to SARS or SARS-like viruses. It can be applied to other emerging pathogens to helping us prepare for the next emergent virus, whether it be MERS, the Zika virus or something we haven’t even heard of yet.”
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