On the threshold of a new pandemic: coronavirus discovered one step away from infecting humans

American scientists have discovered a new coronavirus HKU5-CoV-2, which is just one mutation away from being able to infect humans. The virus was identified in bat samples from China, and according to a study published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications, with certain genetic changes it can attack human cells.

Scientists are raising the alarm due to the similarity of the new virus to MERS-CoV - the causative agent of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, which has a frightening mortality rate of 34 percent. In laboratory conditions, researchers created pseudoviruses with the HKU5 spike protein and proved that with a specific mutation, the pathogen is capable of penetrating cells with human ACE2 receptors - the same ones through which the COVID-19 pathogen enters the body.

Currently, the virus circulates only among bats, however there is a danger that if it enters the body of an intermediate host, such as a civet or mink, it could acquire the mutations necessary to infect humans. Scientists emphasize that this is exactly how SARS-CoV-2 emerged. Additional concern is raised by the fact that HKU5 was first discovered in a laboratory with connections to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

"Despite the absence of registered human infection cases, viruses of this group are already on the threshold of overcoming the interspecies barrier. They need to be carefully monitored," warned the lead author of the study, Professor Michael Letko from Washington State University. The scientists' work emphasizes the critical importance of wildlife monitoring and creating a global coronavirus surveillance system.