Scientists in China have discovered a new coronavirus in bats capable of infecting humans. It has not infected humans so far but is somewhat capable of it. This is not to be confused with the more than 50 people in the Congo who died grotesque deaths within 48 hours of eating a bat. Bats are disgusting, it seems, and should not be used as a food source. Ever.
Researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology published their findings in Cell. There, the scientists reveal that the virus HKU5-CoV-2 can theoretically infect all manner of mammals, including us humans.
At the moment, however, it is not built to effectively infect humans. That can change, of course, since viruses can evolve and adapt at a rapid pace, especially while spreading through a population, picking up minor changes along the way.
If you didn’t learn about coronaviruses the first time around and are surprised to hear the term again, it’s because COVID-19 was a coronavirus and not the coronavirus. Coronavirus is a catchall term for a big group of viruses, some of which can infect humans. The common cold is a coronavirus, but so are deadlier viruses like SARS and COVID-19. HKU5-CoV-2 joins their ranks.
“CDC is aware of a publication about a new bat coronavirus, but there is no reason to believe it currently poses a concern to public health,” the agency said of the new virus in a statement. “The publication referenced demonstrates that the bat virus can use a human protein to enter cells in the laboratory, but they have not detected infections in humans.”
For now, it’s just something to keep an eye on. Coronaviruses are going to pop up from time to time. It’s just a matter of quickly responding to them when they do start infecting humans. We’ve all been affected (and *ahem* infected) by a deadly coronavirus pandemic. Let’s hope we learned a thing or two. I don’t think we did, but hoping feels nice.
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