Mainland Chinese scientists have discovered a new coronavirus strain, HKU5-COV-2, in bats. This virus uses the same cell-surface protein to enter human cells as the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19.
The study, published in Cell in February, indicates that while the discovery raises concerns about the potential for HKU5-COV-2 to infect humans, it does not infect human cells as easily as SARS-CoV-2.
The research team included scientists from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Guangzhou Laboratory, Wuhan University, and other mainland institutions. One of the authors, Shi Zhengli, is the former director of the Emerging Infectious Diseases Research Center at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. In early 2020, Shi published a paper identifying the pathogen behind COVID-19. The Wuhan Institute of Virology, and Shi in particular, faced global scrutiny over concerns that the epidemic might have been triggered by a virus leak from the laboratory.
