Chinese scientists have discovered a new coronavirus, HKU5-CoV-2: the same infection pathway as COVID-19

The team of coronavirus experts from the Wuhan Institute of Virology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences recently discovered a new coronavirus in bats, named HKU5-CoV-2. The research indicates that this virus, like COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2), can enter cells through the ACE2 receptor. This discovery has attracted high follow in the scientific community, but researchers emphasize that the virus has not been found to spread among humans at present.

New virus HKU5-CoV-2 discovered in bat

According to a report in the South China Morning Post on February 21, research teams from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the Guangzhou Institute of Science, and the Guangzhou Laboratory recently published their research findings in the international scientific journal 'Cell.' They discovered a new coronavirus HKU5-CoV-2 in bats, which is a new member of the coronavirus family.

Infection mechanisms similar to COVID-19

A research report pointed out that HKU5-CoV-2 contains a protease that can bind to the ACE2 receptor of humans and other mammals, thereby infecting cells. This mode of infection is similar to SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19).

Scientists further simulated the invasion of the virus into the human intestinal and respiratory tract models in the laboratory, and the results showed that the virus can efficiently infect the ACE2 receptor, with even stronger binding ability than the original strain of COVID-19, and a wider host range.

Will it pose a threat to humanity?

Although HKU5-CoV-2 exhibits similar infection pathways to COVID-19, researchers emphasize that the potency of this virus is far lower than COVID-19 and has not yet been found in the human body. In other words, this research is mainly based on laboratory data, and the virus currently only exists in bats and has not been confirmed to pose a human-to-human transmission risk.

Shi Zhengli led the research, triggering follow again

This research is led by Chinese coronavirus expert Shi Zhengli, who is known as the 'Bat Woman' for her long-term research on bats and coronaviruses. After the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic in 2019, there were suspicions from the outside whether the virus originated from her laboratory. She once publicly stated that she also had doubts at the time, but later confirmed that COVID-19 did not leak from the laboratory.

Monitoring and research for the future remains crucial

The discovery of HKU5-CoV-2 once again reminds the scientific community that bats remain the natural host of a variety of coronaviruses. Although the virus has not been found to pose a direct threat to humans, scientists emphasize that continuous monitoring and research on novel viruses are crucial for preventing potential future epidemics.

Chinese scientists discovered a new type of coronavirus HKU5-CoV-2 in this article: it has the same infection pathway as COVID-19 and first appeared on Chain News ABMedia.