A Chinese team of virologists have found a new bat coronavirus that carries the risk of animal-to-human transmission. It uses the same human receptor as the virus that causes Covid-19, a media report said. The study was led by Shi Zhengli, Chinese virologist from the controversial Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), where the COVID-19 was alleged to have emanated from. Shi, who is known as the Bat Woman for her research on viruses from the Bats, as well as the Chinese government deny that the virus was leaked from the WIV lab. China said its bio-lab in WIV has never engaged in \”gain-of-function studies\” on coronav virus amid allegations that USAID has funded the study of the infectious disease. The new virus comes from the merbecovirus subgenus, which also includes the Virus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers) The virus is able to bind to the human angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE2), the same receptor used by the Sars-CoV-2 virus to infect cells.
