According to new research published in Cells, an unknown family of viruses that is currently prevalent in wild African primates and known to cause lethal Ebola-like symptoms in certain monkeys is "poised for spillover" to people. Drawing analogies to HIV, senior author Dr. Sara Sawyer, a CU Boulder professor of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology, stated that the global health community can potentially avoid another pandemic by monitoring for arteriviruses in both animals and humans at present.

She and her colleague, Dr. Cody Warren, revealed that a molecule called CD163 plays an important role in the biology of viruses, allowing the virus to enter and infect target cells. The researchers discovered that the virus was adept at latching on to the human version of CD163, thereby getting inside human cells and rapidly replicating itself. 

They further added that simian arteriviruses, like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and its progenitor simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), appear to attack immune cells, weakening important defense mechanisms and establishing a long-term presence in the body.

Dr. Sawyer explained that COVID was merely the most recent in a long line of spillover events from animals to people, some of which have burst into global disasters. Hence, by taking simian arteriviruses as an example, the global health community should prioritize further research into simian arteriviruses, develop blood antibody testing for them, and investigate surveillance of human populations exposed to animal carriers. 

(Source: https://www.livemint.com/science/health/another-monkey-virus-on-verge-of-infecting-humans-see-what-research-shows-11664590360570.html )