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Dog Coronavirus Jumps to Humans, With a Protein Shift

upstart writes:

Dog coronavirus jumps to humans, with a protein shift:

A new canine coronavirus was first identified in two Malaysian human patients who developed pneumonia in 2017-18. A group of other scientists isolated the canine coronavirus, sequenced it and published their findings in 2021.

Now, a team led by Cornell and Temple University researchers has identified a pattern that occurs in a terminus of the canine coronavirus spike protein -- the area of the virus that facilitates entry into a host cell: The virus shifts from infecting both the intestines and respiratory system of the animal host to infecting only the respiratory system in a human host.

The researchers identified a change in the terminus -- known as the N terminus -- a region of the molecule with alterations also detected in another coronavirus, which jumped from bats to humans, where it causes a common cold.

The paper, "Recent Zoonotic Spillover and Tropism Shift of a Canine Coronavirus is Associated with Relaxed Selection and Putative Loss of Function in NTD Subdomain of Spike Protein," was published April 21 in the journal Viruses.

"This study identifies some of the molecular mechanisms underlying a host shift from dog coronavirus to a new human host, that may also be important in the circulation of a new human coronavirus that we previously didn't know about," said Michael Stanhope, professor of public and ecosystem health in the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Journal Reference:
Jordan D. Zehr, Sergei L. Kosakovsky Pond, Darren P. Martin, et al. Recent Zoonotic Spillover and Tropism Shift of a Canine Coronavirus Is Associated with Relaxed Selection and Putative Loss of Function in NTD Subdomain of Spike Protein, Viruses (DOI: 10.3390/v14050853)

Bird Flu Found in Colorado Man but Risk to Humans is Low, CDC Says

upstart writes:

Bird Flu Found in Colorado Man but Risk to Humans Is Low, CDC Says:

A man in Colorado has tested positive for the H5N1 avian flu, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health officials said Thursday. The man, who's younger than 40 and an inmate at a state correctional facility, had direct exposure to infected poultry at a commercial farm in western Colorado.

The CDC and the Colorado Department of Public Health said the risk to the public remains low. The man is largely asymptomatic but is receiving treatment per CDC guidelines and is being kept away from others.

According to the CDC, this is the second human case "associated with this specific group of H5 viruses," and the first case in the US. H5N1 is the predominant bird flu virus in the world, but it remains rare in humans.

"We want to reassure Coloradans that the risk to them is low," said Dr. Rachel Herlihy, epidemiologist with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, in a release.

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