What Is Khosta-2, New COVID-Like Virus Found In Russian Bats That Can Infect Humans

New Delhi: Scientists have discovered a new update on the SARS-CoV-2-like virus in Russian bats that may complicate matters for humans. This new kind of bat virus can infect humans and is resistant to the current available COVID vaccines.

A recent study by researchers of Washington State University’s Paul Allen School for Global Health found that the SARS-CoV-2-like virus,  Khosta-2, could penetrate human cells, reported Time magazine. The virus was first discovered by scientists in 2020. However, at that time, they did not think that the infection could pose any threat to humans.

Researchers found that the “spike from virus, Khosta-2, could infect cells similar to human pathogens using the same entry mechanisms, but was resistant to neutralization by serum from individuals who had been vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2”.

The latest study found that Khosta-2 attaches to the same protein, ACE2, that SARS-CoV-2 uses to invade human cells. “Our research further demonstrates that sarbecoviruses circulating in wildlife outside of Asia – even in places like western Russia where the Khosta-2 virus was found – also pose a threat to global health and ongoing vaccine campaigns against SARS-CoV-2,” Michael Letko, a WSU virologist and corresponding author of the study, was quoted as saying in a report by WSU News.