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Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160314211501.htm
New SARS-like virus is poised to infect humans
The new virus, known as WIV1-CoV, directly binds to the same human receptor as the SARS strain that infected thousands in 2002
Date:
March 14, 2016
Source:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Summary:
A SARS-like virus found in Chinese horseshoe bats may be poised to infect humans without the need for adaptation, overcoming an initial barrier that could potentially set the stage for an outbreak according to a new study.
A SARS-like virus found in Chinese horseshoe bats may be poised to infect humans without the need for adaptation, overcoming an initial barrier that could potentially set the stage for an outbreak according to a study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The work, led by Ralph Baric, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology at UNC's Gillings School of Global Public Health, comes on the heels of two recent high-profile outbreaks -- Ebola and Zika -- for which there are no vaccines. The two outbreaks combined claimed thousands of lives and cost billions in foregone economic growth.
"The capacity of this group of viruses to jump into humans is greater than we originally thought," said Vineet Menachery, Ph.D., the study's first author. "While other adaptations may be required to produce an epidemic, several viral strains circulating in bat populations have already overcome the barrier of replication in human cells and suggest reemergence as a distinct possibility."...
New SARS-like virus is poised to infect humans
The new virus, known as WIV1-CoV, directly binds to the same human receptor as the SARS strain that infected thousands in 2002
Date:
March 14, 2016
Source:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Summary:
A SARS-like virus found in Chinese horseshoe bats may be poised to infect humans without the need for adaptation, overcoming an initial barrier that could potentially set the stage for an outbreak according to a new study.
A SARS-like virus found in Chinese horseshoe bats may be poised to infect humans without the need for adaptation, overcoming an initial barrier that could potentially set the stage for an outbreak according to a study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The work, led by Ralph Baric, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology at UNC's Gillings School of Global Public Health, comes on the heels of two recent high-profile outbreaks -- Ebola and Zika -- for which there are no vaccines. The two outbreaks combined claimed thousands of lives and cost billions in foregone economic growth.
"The capacity of this group of viruses to jump into humans is greater than we originally thought," said Vineet Menachery, Ph.D., the study's first author. "While other adaptations may be required to produce an epidemic, several viral strains circulating in bat populations have already overcome the barrier of replication in human cells and suggest reemergence as a distinct possibility."...