Scientists have identified a new virus that bears a staggering similarity to COVID-19, raising fears that just one 'small step' could lead to another devastating global pandemic.
It's understandable that scientists and researchers now exercise additional caution when it comes to potential viral outbreaks, as nobody wants a repeat of the horrific COVID-19 pandemic that claimed millions of lives worldwide.
There have been a number of scares in recent years that have prompted health experts to forewarn that a new pandemic is on its way, including ones made by those who predicted the arrival of coronavirus, but none have thankfully came to anything so far.
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The prophecies of Baba Vanga might worryingly be more right than we think though if you go by new warnings from key scientists though, as a fresh virus with worryingly similar traits to COVID-19 has emerged in China one again.
As reported by the Daily Mail, researchers have identified what they are calling the HKU5-CoV-2 virus, which like COVID-19 has been first documented in bats.
It falls within the coronavirus group, and is especially close to MERS which has a terrifyingly high mortality rate in humans, and researchers have indicated that it could be just a few small steps away from infecting humans.
Thankfully though in its current state it proves virtually no danger for us, as tests using lab-made 'pseudoviruses' have shown no signs of latching on to human cells without mutation.
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The worry lies in the potential for HKU5 to mutate if it transfers from bats to another 'intermediate' animal, eventually reaching a point where it has changed enough to eventually infect human cells.
Professor Michael Letko of Washington State University has revealed: "HKU5 viruses in particular really hadn't been looked at much, but our study shows how these viruses infect cells. What we also found is HKU5 viruses may be only a small step away from being able to spill over into humans."
Experts have suggested that the risk of a pandemic on the same level as COVID-19 are low though, as HKU5 is 'much less powerful' than the virus we are far more familiar with.
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"The COVID pandemic is the worst in a century, but it doesn't mean another is about to happen from bird flu or this or anything else," explained Dr Mark Siegel of NYU Langone Health, adding that studies on bat-borne viruses like this "are a step in the right direction."