Hedgehog viruses may threaten cats more than humans

— Washington State University researchers have discovered how a group of coronaviruses circulating in hedgehogs invades host cells, a key to understanding their potential to jump between species and their risk of causing a pandemic in humans.

Known as Erinaceus coronaviruses, or ErinCoVs, the viruses have concerned scientists because of their close relation to the one that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, a severe respiratory disease that spreads mainly from camels to humans and kills about one-third of infected people.

The researchers found the hedgehog viruses are unlikely to infect humans without first undergoing multiple genetic mutations, but they may pose more immediate risks to other animals, including cats.

The findings were published in Nature Microbiology.

“Scientists have been aware of these viruses for a while, but for the first time, we were able to figure out how they infect cells,” said Michael Letko, a virologist in the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine’s Paul G.

Allen School for Global Health and senior author of the study.

“That’s a crucial step for understanding what they can and can’t infect.” Since first being detected more than a decade ago, the viruses have been found in high numbers of sampled hedgehogs in Europe and Asia, with studies finding infections in anywhere from about 10% in the United Kingdom to around 60% in Germany and Italy.

The viruses don’t appear to cause serious disease in hedgehogs, but their widespread circulation increases the chances they could evolve over time.

Scientists have struggled to study the viruses because they have been unable to grow them in laboratory conditions.

Using genetic data and laboratory models, the WSU-led team was able to recreate harmless but key parts of the viruses – like their spike proteins – and test how they interact with cells, without working with live viruses.

Like other coronaviruses, ErinCoVs rely on spike proteins to attach to receptors on the surface of host cells.

The report adds to ongoing university-led research relevant to veterinary medicine, animal health, and clinical decision-making.

university website: Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine