Group Group IV ((+)ssRNA) Family Coronaviridae Genus Betacoronavirus | Order Nidovirales Subfamily Coronavirinae Rank Species | |
Similar Betacoronavirus, Tylonycteris, Leschenault's rousette | ||
Rousettus bat coronavirus HKU9 (Bat-CoV HKU9) is an enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA mammalian Group 2 betacoronavirus discovered in Rousettus bats in China in 2011. This strain of coronavirus is closely related to the newly identified novel EMC/2012 strain found in London which is related to the MERS-CoV. The MERS-CoV species is responsible for the 2012 Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus outbreaks in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy.
Transmission
The exact means of transmission to humans is not yet well known. However, it has been demonstrated that betaCoV's including HKU4 have the propensity to recombine and cause interspecies transmission. However, this is not seen in Group C betaCov's to which MERS-CoV is most closely related.