Researchers detect new type of canine coronavirus

• Researchers believe to have detected a new type of coronavirus that originated in dogs.
• The virus, found in nasal swab samples of pneumonia patients, was a new strain of a canine coronavirus.
• It is still unclear whether there is human-to-human transmission and if the virus can cause disease in humans.

Researchers have found a new type of coronavirus that most likely originated in dogs. The new strain of canine coronavirus is believed to be the eighth unique coronavirus known to cause disease in humans if it is confirmed as a pathogen.

The researchers studied nasal swab samples taken from 301 pneumonia patients hospitalized in the eastern Malaysian state of Sarawak in 2017-2018.

Among the samples, eight (mostly from children under 5 years old) tested positive for a canine coronavirus.

After further genomic sequencing, they discovered the new strain, named CCoV-HuPn-2018. It had similar characteristics to other coronaviruses known to have infected cats and pigs, but was mostly similar to one known to have infected dogs.

However, it also had a genetic deletion or mutation not found in any known canine coronaviruses. This mutation was found in human strains, like SARS-COV and SARS-COV-2, the virus behind the COVID-19 disease.

Meanwhile, it is still unclear whether SARS-COV-2 came from an animal, human, or another source.

The researchers surmised that the virus was likely transmitted from animals to humans recently. However, more studies are needed to determine whether a human-to-human transmission is possible.

It is also still unknown whether the virus actually causes disease in humans. The study authors noted the possibility that humans were mere carriers of the disease.

So far, there have been seven types of coronavirus known to cause disease in humans. Four of these cause the common cold, while the other three cause diseases commonly known as SARS, MERS, and COVID-19.

The study was published in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal on Thursday.

Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation News