A virus belonging to the same subcategory as Covid-19 was discovered by American researchers on bats in Russia.
The results of their research were published this Wednesday in a study published in the scientific journal PLoS Pathogens and relayed in France by West-France. Called “Khosta-2”, it belongs to the category of “sarbecovirus” and is said to be able to infect humans.
“Efforts to try to identify the origins of Sars-Cov-1 and -2 have led to the discovery of several sarbecoviruses of animal origin – the majority are remote from known human pathologies and do not infect human cells“, specifies the introduction of the study.
The Khosta-1 and -2 viruses were discovered in bats in Russia’s Sochi National Park in 2020 and, at the time, did not appear to pose a threat to humans. “When we looked at them more closely, we were really surprised to find that they might infect human cells” can we read in the study.
Despite this news, scientists want to be reassuring: Khosta-2 does not seem to have genes that might cause serious diseases in humans.
The researchers who conducted the study still call for the development of universal vaccines once morest this type of virus. “Our findings highlight the urgent need to continue the development of new vaccines once morest all sarbecoviruses.”
