China Finds Corona Bat Virus Similar To The COVID-19 Virus

PIXABAY ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - A team of Chinese scientists in a recent study found the new bat coronavirus at risk of infection from animals to humans because it uses the same human receptor as the COVID-19 virus, Hong Kong daily reports.

The study conducted by the Guangzhou Laboratory with the Guangzhou Saints Academy, Wuhan University, and the Wuhan Institute of Virology was published in the scientific journal Cell on Tuesday, the South China Morning Post reported.

In the report, it is explained that the newly discovered corona virus uses human receptors such as the COVID-19 virus and SARS, namely the human angiotension (ACE2) change enzyme.

The virus, also known as HKU5-CoV-2, is a new derivative of the HKU5 coronavirus found in Japanese toiletrelle bats in Hong Kong.

Lab tests reveal the virus can infect human cells and lung and intestinal tissues cultivated in laboratories.

Reported by ANTARA from Anadolu, Friday, February 21, the virus can also bind ACE2 receptors to humans, bats, and other animals, thereby increasing the possibility of cross-species transmission.

However, the researchers stressed that although HKU5-CoV-2 has a stronger binding capability than its original strain with a wider host range, this strain is much weaker than SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, with a low risk of human-wide transmission.

China previously rejected the CIA-backed theory that the COVID-19 pandemic originated from an accidental laboratory leak in Wuhan, and not natural transmission in traditional markets.

The first case of the COVID-19 virus was reported in Wuhan, central China, in December 2019. The virus then spread throughout the world, causing national quarantine and causing nearly seven million deaths.