New bat coronavirus HKU5-CoV-2 identified in China
A big danger has come from China again! The new coronavirus has come back to China. The new HKU5-COV-2 virus has been discovered in bats. Virologist Xi Zhengli, also called China’s Bat Queen, has discovered a new virus in bats. It is similar to the SARS-CoV-2 virus that led to the last epidemic.
Similar to the COVID-19 virus, it can infect human beings. It can infect the human body using the angiotensin converting enzyme or ACE2 receptor. SARS-CoV-2 also spreads via the ACE2 receptor. When the spread of the corona virus started, there was a discussion of its origin in bats.
Later on, the virus was suspected to have leaked from the Wuhan lab in China. The theory for this has not been established yet. Even so, Xi Zhengli was a scientist at the Wuhan lab. At that time, Xi Zhengli stated that the lab had nothing to do with the virus. The then US President Donald Trump stated that the virus leaked from the Wuhan lab. The Trump administration is again in power after 4 years. CIA Chief John Ratcliffe has endorsed the lab leak theory.supported the lab leak theory.
What Is HKU5-CoV-2: A New Bat Coronavirus
- HKU5-CoV-2 is a newly identified bat virus that infects cells by attaching to a human and mammalian protein.
- It’s closely related to the coronavirus family responsible for Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).
- Confirmed in approximately 2,600 individuals worldwide from 2012 to May 2024 and claimed the lives of 36% of infected individuals.
- Discovered in the Japanese pipistrelle bat species in Hong Kong.
- Discovered to bind human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors like SARS-CoV-2.
- The virus also can bind ACE2 receptors in other mammalian species, facilitating increased cross-species transmission.
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