A new coronavirus in bats, similar to that of the virus responsible for Covid-19, has been discovered by researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, potentially signalling a new risk to human health,

Researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China said they discovered a new coronavirus in bats that enters cells using the same gateway as the virus that causes Covid-19.

A newly discovered bat coronavirus uses the same cell-surface protein to gain entry into human cells as the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, raising the possibility that it could someday spread to humans,

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 A Chinese team has found a new bat coronavirus that carries the risk of animal-to-human transmission because it uses the same human receptor as the virus that causes Covid-19.