New Bat Coronavirus Capable Of Infecting Humans Discovered In China

A new bat coronavirus that carries the risk of animal-to-human transmission, similar to the one that caused the COVID-19 pandemic, has been discovered in China. According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the new virus called HKU5-CoV-2 was found by a team of virologists led by Shi Zhengli, the famed scientist known as "Batwoman" for her lifetime work in coronaviruses, especially at the Wuhan Institute, which has been at the centre of the theory suggesting COVID-19 came from a lab leak - something China has denied repeatedly.

The Chinese researchers found that the new virus has similarities to SARS CoV-2 - the virus which led to the Covid pandemic - because this too can infiltrate human cells called ACE2 the same way Covid did, the outlet reported.

HKU5-CoV-2 is a coronavirus belonging to the merbecovirus subgenus, which also includes the virus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Scientists found that the new virus can bind to human ACE2, making it similar to SARS-CoV-2 and NL63 (a common cold virus).