Scientists in China have identified a new bat coronavirus, HKU5-CoV-2, but health experts caution against overreacting,

CoV-2, found in China has sparked concerns among health officials and has triggered panic. HKU5-CoV-2 has similarities to the virus responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a study published in Cell.

A team of Chinese researchers has discovered a new bat coronavirus that has the potential to jump from animals to humans, raising concerns about possible future outbreaks. The v

Research was led by Shi Zhengli, a virologist known as the ‘batwoman’, who is best known for her work on coronaviruses at a lab in Wuhan.

Researchers have discovered a new coronavirus in Chinese bats. HKU5-CoV-2 is a coronavirus belonging to the merbecovirusgroup, which also includes the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) virus. RELATED: Another US agency assesses COVID-19 origin likely a Chinese 'lab leak': report

According to the study, the virus has the ability to bind to the human angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE2), the same receptor used by the Sars-CoV-2 virus to enter human cells.

Newly discovered bat coronavirus shares entry protein with COVID-19, but poses lower risk of human transmission, researchers find.