A compound that can fight coronaviruses, responsible for the SARS and MERS outbreaks, which currently have no cure, has been identified by an international team of scientists, Agence France-Presse reported.
Coronaviruses, causing up to a third of common colds, affect the upper and lower respiratory tracts in humans.
The global SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) epidemic in 2002, which killed nearly 800 people, was triggered by a more severe strain of the virus, thought to have come from bats.
In 2012, MERS was reported to be a new strain discovered in Saudi Arabia. Rumored to have originated in camels, it has proven to more deadly, yet less contagious. About 193 people have died across 636 confirmed cases.
"But now a team of scientists led by Edward Trybala from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, and Volker Thiel from the University of Bern have discovered a compound called K22, which appears to block the ability of the virus to spread in humans," AFP reported.
"They first noticed that K22 was able to combat a weak form of coronavirus that causes mild cold-like symptoms, and went on to show that it can fight more serious strains, including SARS and MERS."
The human respiratory system is lined with cells that contain reproduction of the virus, the scientists explained in an article for specialist journal PLOS Pathogens.
The virus takes over the membranes that separate different parts of human cells, reshaping them into a sort of armor around itself in order to start its production cycle, according to AFP.
The virus is prevented from taking control of the cell membranes after K22 acts at an early stage in the process.
"The results confirm that the use of the membrane of the host cell is a crucial step in the life-cycle of the virus," the researchers wrote. Their work shows that "the process is highly sensitive and can be influenced by anti-viral medications."
Since recent SARS epidemic and MERS outbreak requires an action of emergency, there should be urgent investment in testing K22 outside the laboratory and developing medicines, they said.
