A new virus spread through contact with bats has made its debut just in time for spooky season. But beware, researchers at Washington State University say this particular strain, which is capable of infecting humans, is resistant to current vaccines.
The bat virus has been formally named Khosta-2. Scientists say monoclonal antibodies and serum from people vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2 (found in COVID-19) stand no chance against its spiked proteins. Both COVID and Khosta-2 are in the same subcategory of coronaviruses called sarbecoviruses.
Last week, Michael Letko, a virologist at the university published a study detailing how Russian bats are resistant to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. In it, he mentioned how SARS-CoV-2 “emerged in the human population after cross-species transmission from an animal source.” Letko also stated, “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.”
According to Portland, Oregon news station KOIN 6, the virologist noted, “When you see SARS-2 has this ability to spill back from humans and into wildlife, and then there are other viruses like Khosta-2 waiting in those animals with these properties we really don’t want them to have, it sets up this scenario where you keep rolling the dice until they combine to make a potentially riskier virus.”
Luckily, there have been no known cases of Khosta-2 found in humans at this time. The sarbecoviruses have only been identified in animals like bats and raccoons in China, Laos, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, Africa and Bulgaria.
Letko believes it’s not time to worry about the bat virus yet. “Just because the virus can infect human cells does not mean it will cause a pandemic or even transmit to one single person. Many factors control if a virus will transmit and if it will spread between individuals with high efficiency needed for a pandemic,” he said.