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China’s ‘batwoman’ scientist warns another coronavirus outbreak is ‘highly likely’
- Shi Zhengli and colleagues at the Wuhan Institute of Virology warn in a paper that there are 20 ‘highly risky’ coronavirus species
- One scientist compared the research to a ‘dictionary of coronaviruses’ that could prove to be a valuable guide in future
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One of China’s best-known virologists Shi Zhengli, also known as “batwoman”, has warned that it is “highly likely” another coronavirus will appear in future.
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Shi, who gained her nickname because of her research into viruses that leap from animals – especially bats – to humans, warned in a recent paper written with colleagues that the world must be prepared for another disease like Covid-19 because “if a coronavirus caused diseases to emerge before, there is a high chance it will cause future outbreaks”.
Coronaviruses caused both the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) outbreak that killed thousands of people worldwide, mainly in mainland China and Hong Kong, as well as Covid-19.
In this study Shi’s team from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, evaluated the human spillover risk of 40 coronavirus species and rated half of them as “highly risky”.
Of these, six are already known to have caused diseases that infected humans, while there is evidence that a further three caused disease or infected other animal species.
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“It is almost certain that there will be future disease emergence and it is highly likely a [coronavirus] disease again,” the study warned.
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