Written By: Satata Karmakar | Updated : March 3, 2025 10:18 AM IST
New China Virus Sparks Global Concern: Wuhan Lab Scientists Warn of COVID-Like Pandemic Threat In The Upcoming Days
New Virus In China: A newly detected virus in China's Wuhan lab has sparked global concern, with scientists warning of its potential to trigger a COVID-like pandemic. The virus, reportedly discovered through ongoing research on bat coronaviruses, exhibits alarming similarities to SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts have raised urgent concerns over the possibility of human transmission and the risk of another global health crisis.
In the study, which was published in the journal Cell, the researchers stated that a new virus had been detected in the bats at the Wuhan lab in China. The virus, named HKU5-CoV-2, is a part of the Merbecovirus subgenus, which also includes the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).
Since 2020, the Wuhan lab has been under scrutiny after a bizarre virus surfaced at a wet market 40 minutes away. Concerns regarding a possible lab leak were immediately raised when it was discovered that the lab had a collection of bat coronaviruses, as per a report.
Researchers at the Wuhan lab have identified HKU5-CoV-2, a novel bat coronavirus that resembles COVID-19 and has the ability to infiltrate human cells. 'Batwoman' from China was still conducting 'potentially catastrophic' virus experiments, media quoted. "Further investigation" is called for in the research paper, which was written by China's "Batwoman" Shi Zhengli and includes tests on humanized mice, reported the media.
Here is what we know about the virus so far...
In the report, the scientists mentioned that HKU5-CoV-2 has been found to utilize the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor to enter cells, similar to SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19. This suggests a potential for direct transmission from bats to humans without the need for an intermediate host.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), camel flu is less infectious than Covid, but it is more deadly, killing a third of known patients. "There is the potential for this new virus to spillover to human, like previous coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2," said Dr Gary R McLean, a research fellow at the Imperial College London, who was not involved in the study.
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