What is Khosta-2: New Covid-like virus found in Russian bats

A new SARS-CoV-2-like virus capable of infecting humans has been found in Russian bats, a study found. The virus which is resistant to current vaccines against COVID-19 was found by a team led by researchers at Washington State University (WSU), US. The researchers found spike proteins from the bat virus, named Khosta-2, and said that the virus can infect human cells.

Here's all you need to know about Khosta-2, a new Covid-like virus found in Russian bats:

1. Khosta-2 and SARS- CoV-2 belong to the same sub-category of coronaviruses known as sarbecoviruses.

2. Khosta-2 poses a threat to the ongoing vaccine campaigns against Covid, the study said.

3. The study highlighted the need to develop universal vaccines to protect against sarbecoviruses.

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4. The Khosta-1 and Khosta-2 viruses were discovered in Russian bats in late 2020.

5. Both did not appear to be a threat to humans initially, the researchers said.

6. The researchers said that Khosta-1 posed low risk to humans, but Khosta-2 demonstrated some troubling traits.

7. There is a potent risk of Khosta-2 recombining with a second virus like SARS-CoV-2.