A virus similar to SARS-CoV-2 has been detected among bats in Russia and would likely be resistant to current vaccines if it jumped to humans, according to research published Sept. 22 in PLOS Pathogens.
The virus, Khosta-2, can use its spike protein to infect human cells and is resistant to monoclonal antibodies and serum from people vaccinated against COVID-19, a team led by researchers at Washington State University's Paul G. Allen School for Global Health found. The virus belongs in the same coronavirus subcategory as SAR-CoV-2, known as sarbecoviruses.
Khosta-2 lacks several genes believed to play a role in how infections develop and cause disease among humans. However, there is still a risk of Khosta-2 recombining with a virus such as SARS-CoV-2 that could create a potentially riskier virus, according to Michael Letko, PhD, study author and a virologist at Washington State University.
"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," he said in a news release.
The findings highlight the need for universal vaccines to protect against all types of sarbecoviruses, not just known COVID-19 variants, Dr. Letko added.