
07/06/2025
A group of mysterious bat viruses might be just one tiny mutation away from becoming a serious problem for humans, warn US researchers in a new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications.
These viruses belong to the same family as MERS-CoV, a dangerous coronavirus that emerged in 2012 and causes severe respiratory illness.
With a death rate of around 34%, MERS-CoV has already shown the world what these viruses are capable of.
"HKU5 viruses haven't been studied much, but our research shows they have the machinery to infect cells. In fact, they might be only a single step away from being able to infect humans,” said Dr. Michael Letko, a virologist and lead author of the study.