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.
