Five new viruses dangerous to humans discovered in Chinese bats

Australian and Chinese researchers have identified five new viruses in bats that can be transmitted to humans. It is noted that the study studied samples from 2015 to 2019, RIA Novosti reports.

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Scientists took samples from 149 bats across the Yunnan Province of China for four years and identified five viruses ‘likely to be pathogenic to humans or livestock’.

Moreover, the researchers add that bats can be carriers of several viruses at the same time.

“This means that Sars-Cov-2-like viruses are still circulating in Chinese bats and continue to pose an emergence risk,” said Prof. Eddie Holmes, an evolutionary biologist and virologist at the University of Sydney and co-author of the report.