HKU5-CoV-2, a new deadly bat virus discovered at Wuhan lab, sparks global pandemic fears. Experts urge vigilance, research, and global cooperation to prevent outbreaks.

The study found that HKU5-CoV-2 contains a furin cleavage site, a feature that enhances viral entry into cells via the ACE2 receptor. In laboratory experiments, the virus was able to infect human cells with high ACE2 levels, including models of human intestines and airways.

A newly discovered bat coronavirus uses the same cell-surface protein to gain entry into human cells as the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, raising the possibility that it could someday spread to humans,

Researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China said they discovered a new coronavirus in bats that enters cells using the same gateway as the virus that causes Covid-19.

Researchers in China have discovered a new coronavirus in bats that they say has the potential to spread to humans, after the world was recently hit by the COVID-19 pandemic

This newly isolated strain can bind to the ACE2 receptor in human cells, the same pathway used by the Covid-19 virus.

HKU5-CoV-2 virus has less binding affinity to human ACE2 compared to SARS-CoV-2. Also, other suboptimal factors for human adaptation have suggested the “risk of emergence in human populations should not be exaggerated”.