Two more coronaviruses can infect people, studies suggest | Science | AAAS
Eight children hospitalized with pneumonia in Malaysia several years ago had evidence of infections with a novel coronavirus similar to one found in dogs, a research team reports today. Only seven coronaviruses were previously known to infect people, the latest being SARS-CoV-2, the spark of the COVID-19 pandemic. The discovery of this likely new human pathogen, along with the report of an instance of a coronavirus that appears to have jumped from pigs to people many years ago, could significantly expand which members of the viral family pose another global threat.
I think the more we look, the more we will find that these coronaviruses are crossing species everywhere, says Stanley Perlman, a virologist at the University of Iowa who was not involved in the new work.