The discovery of a new bat coronavirus in China has sparked concerns about another pandemic.
The virus, named HKU5-CoV-2, is similar to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in that it targets the same human receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE2), according to a report in the South China Morning Post.
HKU5-CoV-2 could potentially lead to human-to-human or even cross-species transmission, the researchers found.
The research team was led by Zheng-Li Shi at Guangzhou Laboratory in Guangdong, China.
Shi, who is known as the “batwoman,” worked at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, which came under fire as the potential source of COVID-19.
“This study reveals a distinct lineage of HKU5-CoVs in bats that efficiently use human ACE2 and underscores their potential zoonotic risk,” the researchers wrote in the study, which was published in the scientific journal Cell on Feb. 18.
Researchers from the Guangzhou Academy of Sciences, Wuhan University and the Wuhan Institute of Virology also contributed.
In the study, HKU5-CoV-2 was found to infect human cells as well as artificially grown lung and intestine tissues, according to reports.
