Scientists Warn That a New Coronavirus Affecting Humans May Emerge from Cambodia Soon!
Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Aug 27, 2026 20 minutes ago
Scientists studying bats in Cambodia have discovered previously unknown coronaviruses with biological features that could potentially allow some of them to cross into humans, highlighting the continuing risk of new diseases emerging from wildlife.
Newly characterized bat coronaviruses in Cambodia show genetic features that could potentially allow some viruses to cross
species barriers
The investigation focused on bats in Steung Treng province in northern Cambodia. Between August 2020 and June 2023, scientists conducted eight field missions and collected samples from 1,462 bats belonging to nine genera.
Testing found 146 samples positive for at least one coronavirus test. More detailed genetic work produced 33 complete genomes of previously uncharacterized sarbecoviruses, the coronavirus group that also includes SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2.
Four Groups of Viruses Identified
The newly characterized viruses fell into four major groups associated mainly with different species of horseshoe bats.
Genetic analysis revealed considerable diversity and evidence that these viruses have repeatedly exchanged sections of genetic material through a process called recombination. This can happen when related viruses infect compatible hosts and exchange genetic material, producing viruses with new combinations of genes.
The findings also suggested viruses have moved surprisingly quickly across the region. Cambodian viruses showed evolutionary connections with viruses detected in neighboring Vietnam and Thailand, demonstrating that coronavirus populations in bats are not necessarily restricted by national borders.
One Virus Could Use the Human ACE2 Receptor
The most important finding involved the spike protein, which coronaviruses use to enter cells. Scientists examined its receptor-binding domain, the region responsible for attaching to cellular receptors.
Viruses in groups 2 and 3 had receptor-binding domains remarkably similar to SARS-CoV-2, reaching up to 96.8% amino-acid identity.
Laboratory experiments using pseudoviruses showed that a representative group 2 spike could mediate entry into cells carrying human ACE2. ACE2 is the cellular receptor used by SARS-CoV-2 to gain entry into human cells.
In this
Thailand Medical News report, it is important to emphasize that this does not demonstrate that the Cambodian virus currently infects people or can spread between humans. The scientists were unable to isolate the complete viruses, meaning their actual behavior remains uncertain.
Interestingly, the same group 2 spike could also mediate entry into cells carrying ACE2 receptors from horseshoe bats, civets, pangolins and raccoon dogs. This broad receptor compatibility raises the possibility that some small mammals could potentially serve as intermediate hosts during future cross-species transmission.
By contrast, tested group 1 virus spikes could enter cells carrying their bat host's ACE2 but di
d not efficiently use human ACE2 in the researchers' pseudovirus system.
Important Reasons for Caution
There was also reassuring evidence. None of the newly identified viruses contained the polybasic furin cleavage site found in SARS-CoV-2. The study consequently found no evidence that these viruses currently represent a significant public-health threat.
The scientists said broader and longer-term surveillance is nevertheless important because the extraordinary viral diversity, recombination and regional movement observed in a relatively small area could create opportunities for future spillover.
Institutions Involved
Participating institutions included Institut Pasteur du Cambodge; Cambodia's agriculture, forestry and health authorities; Institut Pasteur and Université Paris Cité; CNRS; University of Montpellier; EPHE; Université PSL; INRAE; Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1; University of Tokyo; Duke-NUS Medical School; Institut Pasteur de Madagascar; and CIRAD-linked ASTRE research units.
Conclusion
The findings do not mean another pandemic is imminent, but they demonstrate why wildlife coronavirus surveillance matters: viruses capable of recognizing human cellular receptors already circulate in nature and continue evolving, recombining and moving between animal populations.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Nature Communications.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-75954-1
Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/coronavirus 
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