Experts worry that a virus closely resembling the COVID-19 has been found in bats in southern China and has the potential to spread through humans.
The coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2, which has killed more than six million people worldwide since it was first discovered in China in 2019, is closely related to the “new” virus known as BtSY2.
Photo via India Today
According to Daily Star, the new strain is one of five "viruses of concern" found in bats across China's Yunnan province that are "likely to be pathogenic to humans or livestock," scientists reckon.
Researchers at Sun Yat-sen University in Shenzhen, the Yunnan Institute of Endemic Disease Control, and the University of Sydney were in charge of the research.
“We identified five viral species that are probably pathogenic for people or livestock,” the team writes in the unreviewed paper, "Including a novel recombinant SARS-like coronavirus that is closely related to both SARS-CoV-2 and 50 SARS-CoV."
However, there's nothing to worry about for now! Hopefully scientists and experts find a way to contain the new virus before it spreads!
By: Aishah Akashah Ahadiat
