Chinese scientists have discovered a new coronavirus strain from bats that can invade human cells through the same cell surface protein that SARS-CoV-2 (which causes Covid-19) does.
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| Image of the new strain of Corona virus causing acute respiratory disease named Covid-19 by WHO. |
This raises concerns that the virus strain could spread to humans in the future, although at present its current ability to spread is not as high as SARS-CoV-2.
In a research report published in the journal Cell, scientists said that the new virus strain named HKU5-CoV-2 is similar to SARS-CoV-2 in that it has the same furin cleavage site - an important factor that helps the virus penetrate human cells through the ACE2 protein on the cell surface.
Scientists conducted experiments in test tubes and human models of the intestine and respiratory tract. The results showed that the HKU5-CoV-2 virus can invade human cells, especially those with high levels of the ACE2 protein.
Scientists have confirmed that HKU5-CoV-2 does not invade human cells as easily as SARS-CoV-2, due to the virus's limited ability to bind to human ACE2 and a number of other factors that make the virus less adaptable to the human body.
Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota (USA), said that excessive concerns about information about the new virus strain are unnecessary. He pointed out that compared to 2019 - when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, the current community has a large amount of antibodies to similar SARS viruses and this could reduce the risk of a pandemic.
In addition, scientists have also quickly discovered monoclonal antibodies and antiviral drugs that can attack this virus, opening up hope for future preventive measures.
However, the findings have attracted great attention from pharmaceutical companies, especially those producing Covid-19 vaccines.
According to Bloomberg, information about the new coronavirus strain has caused the stock prices of vaccine manufacturers such as Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax to increase sharply. Specifically, Pfizer's shares increased by 1.5%, Moderna's increased by 5.3% and Novavax's increased by about 1%, while the general market is falling.
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