New Delhi, Feb 22: The newly discovered bat coronavirus — HKU5-CoV-2 — can spread to humans like Covid-19, said experts on Saturday, raising fresh health concerns.

HKU5-CoV-2 was identified by a team of Chinese virologists led by Shi Zhengli, a renowned scientist at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. She is also known as “Batwoman” for her extensive research on coronaviruses, particularly the SARS-CoV-2 virus — responsible for the deadly pandemic that claimed millions of lives.

The discovery raises concerns about the possibility of another zoonotic spillover. HKU5-CoV-2 belongs to the merbecovirus subgenus, which includes the MERS-CoV virus that caused the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak.

Zhengli’s team had, a few years ago, discovered the HKU lineage of coronaviruses in bats from Hong Kong, but it lacked the ability to infect human cells.

On the other hand, “HKU5-CoV-2 is able to bind to human ACE-2 receptors and infect lab cell models of human lungs and intestines. It is also capable of binding to ACE-2 receptors in other mammals, which means it could theoretically spread from animals to man and vice versa,” said Rajeev Jayadevan, Chairman of the Kerala State IMA Research Cell, told media.

The expert noted that Wuhan researchers have not provided a comparison between HKU5-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV-2 in their ability to infect human cells.

However, Gautam Menon, Dean, Research, at Ashoka University said that the HKU5-CoV-2 does not have pandemic potential. “From what we know as of now, this is unlikely to be significant. HKU5-CoV-2 has interesting similarities to Covid-19 and to some other coronaviruses known to infect humans, but that isn’t enough to infer that it will spread between humans in a way that could cause a pandemic,” Menon told IANS.

He further noted that wide exposure to SARS-CoV-2 virus may provide immunity against the new bat coronavirus. “The fact that most people on the planet have been exposed to Covid-19 by now should also protect against viruses, such as HKU5-CoV-2,” Menon said, while stressing the need to continue research in this area to prepare for any contingency.

Jayadevan that while research on viruses that naturally live in bats is important, studying these viruses in laboratories also carries inherent risks.

“If proper biosecurity measures are not followed, there is a potential for accidental spillover to humans. To mitigate these risks, many labs studying high-risk pathogens operate under stringent Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) protocols,” he said.

He emphasised the need to decrease interactions between bats and humans. “Viruses are known to recombine with each other, creating new versions with greater abilities. This study is a reminder that viruses living naturally in other animals remain a threat for future pandemics in man, and reducing bat-human interactions is one way to lower the risk of spillovers,” Jayadevan said.

Kolkata, Feb 22: Over six months have passed since the shocking rape and murder of a junior woman doctor at Kolkata’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital but her parents are still to get a copy of her death certificate.

The body of the victim was recovered from a seminar hall within the premises of the state-run institution early on August 9 last year.

The victim’s parents have alleged that they have been unable to get the death certificate till now as the R.G. Kar and Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) authorities are shifting the responsibility onto each other.

According to them, the KMC authorities are claiming that since the “place of death” is R.G. Kar, it is the responsibility of the hospital authorities to provide the death certificate.

On the other, the R.G. Kar authorities claim that if a patient dies within the hospital premises or is even brought dead to the hospital, the death certificate will have to be provided by the KMC authorities, the parents added.

The victim’s parents have further claimed that although they have not got a copy of the death certificate, it has been mentioned in the court documents, as per the statement of a medical officer attached to R.G. Kar.

They now say if the death certificate is mentioned in the court documents, why was a copy of the certificate not handed over to them?

Last week, a special court in Kolkata, which had convicted and sentenced civic volunteer Sanjay Roy in the rape and murder case, directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file a fresh progress report on its investigation in the matter on February 24.

Since the special court has already pronounced the sentence for the convict in the main crime of rape and murder, legal circles feel that the fresh progress report will be related to the angle of tampering with the evidence in the case.

It is learnt that the special court had directed the CBI to submit a fresh progress report following a complaint filed by the counsel of the victim’s family accusing the central agency of not updating the court on the progress of investigation in the matter periodically.

Mumbai: The number of suspected and confirmed cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) in Maharashtra has risen to 211 as of Tuesday, following the detection of a new case, health officials reported. Of these, 183 cases have been confirmed as GBS, as per reports.

Massive Outbreak In Pune & Surrounding Region

Among the total cases, 42 are from the Pune Municipal Corporation area, 94 from recently added villages under PMC, 32 from Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, 33 are from rural parts of Pune and 10 from other districts.

So far, 139 patients have been discharged, while 39 remain in intensive care units, and 18 are on ventilators, according to a statement from the state health department.

Nine Deaths Reported In State Related To GBS

The state has recorded nine deaths related to GBS, with four confirmed fatalities directly linked to the disorder and five additional deaths suspected to be due to it.

What Is Guillain-Barré Syndrome?

Guillain-Barré Syndrome is a rare condition in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the peripheral nervous system. According to the World Health Organization, the disorder is often triggered by certain bacterial or viral infections.

It primarily affects nerves responsible for muscle movement and sensory functions such as touch, temperature, and pain. Patients with GBS commonly experience muscle weakness, loss of sensation in the arms and legs, and, in severe cases, difficulty breathing or swallowing.

While the exact cause remains unknown, GBS is often linked to prior infections, vaccinations, or major surgeries, which can lead to an overactive immune response that mistakenly targets the body’s nerves.