Daijiworld Media Network - Beijing

Beijing, Feb 22: A team of Chinese virologists has identified a new bat coronavirus that carries the potential for animal-to-human transmission. The virus, found to utilize the same human receptor as the Covid-19 virus, was discovered in a study led by Shi Zhengli, a prominent virologist from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), according to a report in the South China Morning Post.

Shi, often referred to as 'Bat Woman' for her extensive research on bat-borne viruses, has denied allegations that Covid-19 originated from a lab leak at WIV, a claim also refuted by the Chinese government.

The newly identified virus belongs to the merbecovirus subgenus, which also includes the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) virus. It is a new lineage of the HKU5 coronavirus, first detected in the Japanese pipistrelle bat in Hong Kong.

Research findings, published in the peer-reviewed journal Cell, revealed that this virus can bind to the human angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE2) receptor, the same receptor used by SARS-CoV-2 to infect human cells. Scientists also observed that the virus, when isolated from bat samples, was capable of infecting human cells and organ-like tissue models.

Meanwhile, China has reiterated that the WIV has never conducted gain-of-function research on coronaviruses, amid allegations that US taxpayer funds were used to support such studies.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun dismissed these claims, stating that "China firmly opposes all forms of political manipulation" regarding the virus’s origins.

The Wuhan lab has remained under scrutiny, especially during the Trump administration, which shut down USAID-funded projects that did not align with American interests. The World Health Organization (WHO)-China joint mission had earlier concluded that a lab leak was "extremely unlikely" as the cause of the Covid-19 pandemic.