New Chinese Bat Coronavirus Raises Pandemic Fears

The discovery of a new bat-borne coronavirus in China capable of entering human cells is raising alarm over the possibility of future pandemics similar in scale to COVID-19.

Researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology recently reported that HKU5-CoV-2 can enter human cells using the same ACE2 receptors that played a significant role in COVID-19's spread, though no human infections have been reported.

Bloomberg reported that samples of HKU5-CoV-2 were collected by swabbing hundreds of Pipistrellus bats across China's Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Anhui, and Guangxi provinces. Analysis revealed that the emerging virus belongs to a line of coronaviruses that includes the one causing Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).

While the researchers found that HKU5-CoV-2 is only distantly related to SARS-CoV-2 – the strain of coronavirus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic – the new strain can enter human cells by binding to the ACE2 receptor, which is the mechanism used by SARS-CoV-2.

Experiments led by virologist Shi Zheng-Li reportedly suggest that HKU5-CoV-2 may infect a wide range of mammals, highlighting its potential for transmission from one species to another. It's not yet clear how much of a threat to human health the new strain is and researchers still need to determine how widespread it is in nature, including if it is present in domesticated or game animals that could allow it to cross over to humans.

According to Bloomberg, more global pandemics are likely in the coming years due to international trade and the frequency of air travel. Before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down travel and tourism, the number of passenger air trips more than doubled from the turn of the century to an estimated 4.5 billion in 2019.

Pathogens that spread through the air like SARS-CoV-2 are especially concerning. Lab leaks of infectious pathogens and advances in artificial intelligence could also trigger the next pandemic.

Over the past 40 years, more than three novel pathogens that cause human illness have reportedly been identified each year, with approximately 75% of these diseases originating from animals. Zoonotic diseases, as they are known, can jump from animals to humans, with bats known to host viruses like Ebola, Hendra and Nipah.

Bloomberg reported that there are a number of factors that increase the potential for a pathogen to infect a new species, including these:

Encroachment into wildlife habitat. Since the 1990s, the area of the world undisturbed by humans has dropped by more than 1.16 million square miles, with humans taking over wilderness areas to accommodate the expanding global population. Activities such as logging and mining and new settlements have put people in increasing proximity to wildlife.
Consumption of wild animals. Unhygienic conditions associated with caging, slaughtering and eating wild animals also increases the likelihood of animal-to-human pathogen transmission.
Livestock farming. Humans sometimes contract pathogens from wild animals via livestock animals. When cows, pigs or chickens are closely housed together, the danger of disease spreading increases, with drug-resistant pathogens cropping up among livestock populations treated with antibiotics to accelerate growth.
Changing climate. Warmer temperatures have led to expanded ranges for disease-spreading insects, such as ticks and mosquitoes, as well as longer periods of activity, leading to the spread of illnesses such as Lyme disease, West Nile virus and dengue fever.