A new study has found that the Swine Acute Diarrhea Syndrome Coronavirus (SADS-CoV), which has a mortality rate of 90% in piglets, can also infect human cells. This has led to the virus being classified as a potential high-risk coronavirus. Diseases that develop in animals and can mutate to attack human cells have been responsible for many flu pandemics in the past, including the current Covid-19 pandemic. A recent study by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) found that zoonotic diseases are increasingly jumping from animals to humans. Many of these diseases originate in East Asia, where a large proportion of animals in markets are infected with various coronaviruses.
Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered that, in addition to SARS-CoV-2, there may be another coronavirus that could be dangerous to humans. SADS-CoV has been responsible for a number of disease outbreaks in pigs in China in recent years. The virus, which was discovered in 2016, causes severe diarrhea and has a mortality rate of 90% in piglets. Scientists believe that bats are the most likely source of SADS-CoV, which may have jumped to pigs.
To determine whether SADS-CoV can infect humans and other mammals, a team of researchers conducted experiments on human, monkey, cat, and pig cell cultures. They found that practically all of the cells tested could be infected by SADS-CoV, including human cells. The infection does not occur through any of the known pathways used by other coronaviruses. Antibodies that block these receptors do not inhibit the virus’s replication in human cells. Further studies will investigate how SADS-CoV attacks cells and which human cells are most susceptible to infection.
The study’s authors warn that SADS-CoV is a potential high-risk coronavirus that could affect global health and the economy. While there have been no reported cases of SADS-CoV jumping from pigs to humans in China, the virus’s ability to infect human cells makes it a potential threat. The researchers recommend that pigs be continuously monitored for SADS-CoV infections and that workers in the pig industry be regularly tested for the virus to detect and combat a potential pandemic early.
