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Tengrinews.kz – Doctor of Biological Sciences, Russian professor-virologist Alexander Shestopalov commented on reports of a new coronavirus emerging in China in an interview with "Radio 1."
The specialist stated that there is no precise information or published scientific studies on the research yet.
"There is no scientific information yet. Based on the fact that they discovered the virus and isolated it in bats, this is just routine monitoring work. It was not found in a sick person. This is standard research conducted in nature, on natural objects," explained the director of the Institute of Virology at the Federal Research Center for Fundamental and Translational Medicine.
According to him, bats can transmit the virus to humans through bites or via the nose, lungs, or oral cavity in an enclosed space.
"There are countries where people eat bats. And if they are undercooked, that could be a possible transmission route," the virologist added.
Meanwhile, American specialists have not recognized the new coronavirus as a threat to human health. This was reported by ABC News, citing a statement from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
According to the U.S. Department of Health, although the virus is capable of using human proteins to enter cells in laboratory conditions, it has not yet done so in natural environments.
Earlier, it was reported that Chinese virologists discovered a new coronavirus in bats with potential risks of transmission from animals to humans. This virus was found in the Japanese pipistrelle (a type of vesper bat) in Hong Kong and has been named HKU5-CoV-2.
According to scientists, the identified virus can bind to the human angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE2) to infect cells—the same receptor used by the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.
