A study published in Nature Microbiology on September 16, 2026, reveals how ErinCoV, a coronavirus found in European hedgehogs, enters cells. This virus is closely related to the MERS virus and belongs to a group called merbecoviruses. Researchers from Washington State University and other institutions discovered that ErinCoV uses a protein called aminopeptidase N as a receptor to gain entry into cells. This is the first time a betacoronavirus—like MERS and the virus that causes COVID-19—has been found to use this specific receptor. The study tested ErinCoV against cells from thirty different mammal species. The virus was able to infect cells from felines, rats, and a group of small, elephant-like mammals called macroscelids, but it could not enter human cells. This is due to differences in the receptors on human cells that the virus would need to bind to. ErinCoV is commonly found in European hedgehogs, with infection rates ranging from about 10% in the United Kingdom to as high as 60% in Germany and Italy. However, the virus does not seem to cause severe illness in hedgehogs, and it has not been directly grown in the lab due to safety concerns. Instead, scientists used a technique where they reconstructed the virus's surface proteins and tested their ability to infect cells using a harmless reporter virus. The study also found that ErinCoV becomes more infectious at 33°C, which is close to the body temperature of hedgehogs, compared to 37°C, the human body temperature. This suggests that the virus may be better adapted to infect animals with similar body temperatures. In France, the national veterinary agency Anses released the first complete genetic sequences of ErinCoV collected from hedgehogs in 2022 and 2023 at three wildlife care centers in Toulouse, Maisons-Alfort, and Ganges. This helps fill a geographic gap in the virus's genetic data, as other European countries had already shared their sequences. Lead researcher Michael Letko highlighted that ErinCoV's ability to infect multiple species is a concern, as each jump to a new host could allow the virus to accumulate genetic changes over time. Victoria Jefferson, co-first author of the study, noted that while several barriers prevent ErinCoV from entering human cells, it is still possible—though unlikely—without significant mutations. Cats, which often interact with hedgehogs in outdoor environments, may serve as a potential link in the transmission chain. Although no infected cats have been confirmed, the study suggests that this scenario is biologically possible.