The Complex Biology of Corona Virus Continues to Aid the Deadly Spread Among Species

Highlights:

COVID-19 continues to be highly infectious among different species
Cross-transmission enhances the virulence factor of the virus
Precautionary measures can prevent the cross-transmission and further outbreak of the disease

Several Corona Virus (CoV) inter-species hopping events have occurred in the previous two decades between bats and other animals including humans, resulting in large epidemics/pandemics and high deaths rates().

A computer simulation investigation on SARS-CoV-2 variations at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in the United States discovered how S proteins act not only to infect cells but also to bind themselves to the host cells of bats and other mammals in a similar manner. The findings were based on humans and some Rhinolophus bat species. Several SARS-CoV-2 variants have spike proteins that bind with ACE2 receptors on host cells.

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‘SARS-CoV-2 developed as a result of viral spillover from animals to humans, and spillover to other animal species is becoming more common. Cross-species transmission generally results in the virus rapidly adapting to the new host, and repeated exposures may speed viral mutation and the creation of novel strains.’

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"We were hoping to see really cool adaptive evolution happening as the virus got more used to humans and less used to bats, but we actually saw that there wasn’t a whole lot of change," said Associate Professor Gregory Babbitt from RIT.

"Because this binding site has not evolved very much, there’s really not much stopping it from transmitting from humans to bats," Babbit said in a statement.

These findings highlight the potential for spillover from animal hosts to expedite the emergence of novel viral lineages, which is especially concerning for dogs and cats living in households with COVID-19 patients. This look at viral host switching, in general, demonstrates the unanticipated quickness and adaptability of viral evolution in experimental animal model systems. Meanwhile, a US-based scientist who worked at a contentious research centre in Wuhan, China, has claimed that COVID-19 was a "man-made virus" that escaped from the institution.

Coronavirus
Coronaviruses infect animals, humans, and birds. Human coronaviruses, such as SARS, MERS, and 2019-nCoV cause respiratory distress and even death. The S protein is the infectious agent of the virus.

COVID was leaked two years ago from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), a state-run and sponsored research centre, according to the New York Post.

As per research, all of the unique qualities discovered in SARS-CoV-2 enabled scientists to rule out the possibility that this pandemic generated by the novel corona virus is the consequence of a man-made activity that was either developed in the laboratory or created as a bioweapon out of conspiracy. Recent research indicates that the virus was present all across the planet before it arose in Asia. Instead of beginning in China, there is mounting evidence that it was a global organism waiting for suitable conditions to emerge.

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Recent sewage tests in Barcelona revealed that the virus was present in March 2019, many months before China found the disease in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019. Based on the existing information, it is most likely that this is a naturally occurring virus that originated from an animal host, most likely a bat, with no direct proof of its intermediate host. Nonetheless, researchers have yet to determine which animal acts as an intermediate host for this virus and disease ().

Update on the COVID Situation in India

According to Union health ministry data that was recently released, India recorded a single-day increase of 226 corona virus infections, while active cases decreased to 4,434.

The case totaled 4.46 crore ( 4,46,73,618). The death toll rose to 5,30,630 after Kerala reconciled two fatalities, according to the latest updated figures.

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According to the health ministry, active cases account for 0.01 percent of the overall infections, while the nationwide COVID-19 recovery rate has climbed to 98.80 percent.

Cross-species transmission events that force viruses to adapt to new host settings almost always result in species-specific modifications (). These evolutionary modifications can affect the virus’s virulence and transmissibility in new host species ().

Pathogen host flipping that results in epidemic disease is a rare occurrence that is limited by species interaction. Humans, unlike most other species, migrate throughout the world and interact with domestic and peridomestic animals on a daily basis. As a result, when a novel virus spreads through human populations, there is an unintended danger of exposure to potentially vulnerable nonhuman animals ().

Thus, precautionary measures such as getting vaccinated and boosted when you are eligible, following testing guidelines, wearing a mask, washing hands, and practicing physical distancing can prevent the deadly spread of this infection among species.

References :

Interspecies Jumping of Bat Coronaviruses - (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34834994/)
SARS-COV-2 as an artificial creation: scientific arguments and counterarguments - (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33767796/)
Key Viral Adaptations Preceding the AIDS Pandemic - (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30629915/)
The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2 - (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0820-9)
SARS-CoV-2 evolution in animals suggests mechanisms for rapid variant selection - (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34716263/)

Source-Medindia