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 media report underscores that the virus, found by a Chinese team of virologists, uses the same human receptor 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.

A new bat coronavirus found in China should be monitored “very, very carefully” because it attacks human cells in the same way as Covid-19, virologists have warned.

Chinese scientists have discovered a new coronavirus in bats called HKU5-CoV-2. It shares similarities with SARS-CoV-2 and can infect human cells. Researchers are investigating its potential to spill over to humans.