Like an air of deja vu. A new coronavirus has just been discovered in bats in China and arouses the concern of the international scientific community. Called HKU5-COV-2, this virus belongs to the same family as the MERS-COV, a very virulent respiratory virus that appeared in 2012. On the other hand, it distinguishes itself from that responsible for the pandemic of COVID-19 (SARS-COV-2), although both are coronavirus.
Unlike the COVID-19, which is effectively attached to receptors present on the surface of human cells of the throat, mouth or nose, HKU5-COV-2 is not yet capable of it, but laboratory tests have shown that a slight modification of its structure-the SPIKE protein-could allow it to achieve it, can be read in the study published in the journal Nature Communications. “”It may only be a small step to be able to spread to humans“Confirms Professor Michael Letko, virologist at Washington State University who co -launched these laboratory trials.
To date, no case in humans have been identified. The symptoms he could cause remain hypothetical and could look like those of any coronavirus: fever, cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, intense fatigue, headache … However, if the virus managed to cross the inter -species barrier – in particular via an intermediate host, as had been the case with the Civetes or the Visons in 2012 – (very) severe and deadly. In a very connected world, where epidemics circulate quickly, France and Europe would therefore not be immune to a possible spread.
To avoid such a situation, scientists call for reinforced virological monitoring, especially in wild animals and markets in Asia. They also recommend developing early measures, such as vaccines or targeted treatments, in order to save precious time in the event of emergence. The alert around HKU5-COV-2 should not give way to panic, but it recalls that the risk of new pandemic is very real and that it can be played with one mutation.
