The discovery of a new bat coronavirus in China has sparked concerns about another pandemic.
The virus, named HKU5-CoV-2, is similar to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in that it targets the same human receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE2), according to a report in the South China Morning Post.
HKU5-CoV-2 could potentially lead to human-to-human or even cross-species transmission, the researchers found.
Researchers from the Guangzhou Academy of Sciences, Wuhan University and the Wuhan Institute of Virology also contributed.
In the study, HKU5-CoV-2 was found to infect human cells as well as artificially grown lung and intestine tissues, according to reports.
Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and Fox News senior medical analyst, noted that bats are known to harbor several different species of coronaviruses.