Hong Kong, PRC (Weltexpress). As reported by the South China Morning Post, virologists in the PRC have discovered a new bat coronavirus that can infect humans in the same way as COVID-19. According to the newspaper, the virus is a new strain of the HKU5 coronavirus, which was first detected in the Japanese pipistrelle bat in Hong Kong. According to the newspaper, the study was led by Shi Zhengli at the Guangzhou laboratory, together with experts from the Guangzhou Academy of Sciences, Wuhan University and the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
‘We report the discovery and isolation of a particular lineage (Lineage 2) of HKU5-CoV, which can use not only bat ACE2 but also human ACE2 and various mammalian ACE2 orthologs [genes found in different species with a common origin],’ the newspaper quotes the team as saying in a statement.
The researchers found that when the virus was isolated from bat samples, it could infect human cells. Shi’s team points out that the new virus, named HKU5-CoV-2, ‘may have a broader host range and greater potential for interspecies infection’. However, the virologists point out that there is no reason for panic, as the risk of HKU5-CoV-2 occurring in human populations should not be exaggerated. However, the PRC experts added that further monitoring of the virus is needed.
