New MERS-like coronavirus discovered in Brazil

A novel MERS-like coronavirus has been identified in Brazil, circulating among bats in the state of Ceará, located in the northeast of the country. Through meticulous analysis, scientists successfully isolated the virus from Molossus molossus, a species of bat that feeds on insects and is widely distributed in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The isolated virus exhibited a striking similarity to the coronavirus responsible for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV). The newly discovered virus has been designated BetaCoV UNIFESP mBSS. This finding has been documented in an academic article published in the Journal of Medical Virology. The new coronavirus was identified as part of a national surveillance program for viruses circulating in bats, which have long been known to be important reservoirs of a wide range of coronaviruses. While the potential for human transmission remains uncertain, analyses of the BetaCoV UNIFESP mBSS have demonstrated a genetic sequence exhibiting 71.9% similarity to the MERS-CoV genome, as highlighted by researcher Bruna Stefanie Silvério of the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP). To determine the potential of the novel coronavirus to infect human cells, a programme of experiments has been designed by a team of virologists operating within high-biosafety laboratories at the University of Hong Kong. These experiments are scheduled for completion by the year 2025.