A strategy to assess spillover risk of bat SARS-related coronaviruses in Southeast Asia

Abstract

Emerging diseases caused by coronaviruses of likely bat origin (e.g. SARS, MERS, SADS and COVID-19) have disrupted global health and economies for two decades. Evidence suggests that some bat SARS-related coronaviruses (SARSr-CoVs) could infect people directly, and that their spillover is more frequent than previously recognized. Each zoonotic spillover of a novel virus represents an opportunity for evolutionary adaptation and further spread; therefore, quantifying the extent of this "hidden" spillover may help target prevention programs. We derive biologically realistic range distributions for known bat SARSr-CoV hosts and quantify their overlap with human populations. We then use probabilistic risk assessment and data on human-bat contact, human SARSr-CoV seroprevalence, and antibody duration to estimate that ~400,000 people (median: ~50,000) are infected with SARSr-CoVs annually in South and Southeast Asia. These data on the geography and scale of spillover can be used to target surveillance and prevention programs for potential future bat-CoV emergence.

Antibody-mediated broad sarbecovirus neutralization through ACE2 molecular mimicry

“…Continued SARS-CoV-2 evolution led to the emergence of variants of concern (VOC) that are characterized by higher transmissibility, immune evasion and/or disease severity. There is therefore a need for developing pan-sarbecovirus countermeasures, such as vaccines and therapeutics that are effective against all SARS-CoV-2 variants and divergent zoonotic sarbecoviruses for pandemic preparedness (1).…”

“…vaccines and therapeutics that are effective against all SARS-CoV-2 variants and divergent zoonotic sarbecoviruses for pandemic preparedness (1).…”

High Frequencies of PD-1+TIM3+TIGIT+CTLA4+ Functionally Exhausted SARS-CoV-2-Specific CD4+ and CD8+ T Cells Associated with Severe Disease in Critically ill COVID-19 Patients

“…The same hypothesis as above with CCCs can be made regarding other antigenic sources of pre-existing cross-reactive SARS-CoV-2 T cell responses in unexposed healthy individuals, such as allergens, DTw/aP and BCG vaccines and other pathogens such as EBV, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Bordetella pertussis among others ( Supplemental Table 4 and (64, 78, 79)). Even human interactions with various animal coronaviruses might trigger SARS-CoV-2 cross-reactive T cell responses (80-88). Finally, confirming previous reports (25, 35, 36, 75, 89), we found a significant age-dependent and comorbidities-associated susceptibility COVID-19 disease with patient over 60, and those with pre-existing diabetic and hypertension comorbidities, being the most susceptible to severe COVID-19 disease.…”

Les variants du SARS-CoV-2 face au dépistage et aux vaccins

“…L’origine animale paraît la plus plausible, même si les doutes sur l’échappement d’un virus des laboratoires chinois ont été l’objet de plusieurs controverses. Les nombreuses interactions humaines avec les chauves-souris, en particulier dans la région Indo-Pacifique [3] , où la population s’expose en collectant le guano, en chassant et mangeant les chauve-souris, renforcent bien l’idée qu’il s’agit d’une zoonose.…”