- Humans can be infected with this vaccine-resistant virus

- Need to develop a universal vaccine to combat Sarbecoviruses

Washington: A study conducted by a team of researchers from Washington State University has discovered a new corona-like Virus in Russian bats that can infect humans and resist all vaccines against corona. A spike protein called Hosta-2 has been found in this bat virus that can infect human cells. The virus also does not respond to antibody therapy and blood serum treatment.

Viruses use spike proteins to enter human cells to infect. Both viruses Khost-2 and SARS-CoV-2 are members of the sarbecovirus family. "Our research shows that sarbecoviruses are widespread in wildlife outside of Asia," said lead researcher Mike Latko, who participated in the study. Khost-2 virus has been found in western Russia. This virus is a threat to the health of the world.

The findings of this study, published in the journal PLoS Pathogens, focus on developing a universal vaccine that is effective against sarbecoviruses instead of developing a corona vaccine that is effective against known variants such as SARS-CoV-2. Some groups are currently working on developing a vaccine that protects against this type of sarbecovirus, Letko said.

Thousands of sarbecoviruses have been discovered in recent years. which is mainly found in Asian bats but most of them cannot infect humans. Khosta-1 and Khosta-2 viruses were discovered in Russian bats in the late 2020s. Initially it was found not to be dangerous to humans. Since this virus did not look like SARS-CoV-2, no one cared to pay attention to it.