New bat virus which can infect humans found: Report
PTC News Desk: A new bat virus that is capable of infecting humans has been discovered in Thailand. The discovery has been made by a controversial research group previously linked to experiments in Wuhan, Express.co.uk reported.
Dr. Peter Daszak, director of the New York-based non-profit EcoHealth Alliance, announced the discovery of the previously unknown virus at a World Health Organisation meeting.
The new virus, which has yet to be named, was discovered in a Thai cave where local farmers use bat faeces to fertilise their fields.
Dr Daszak said at the WHO event, "We found a lot of SARS-related coronaviruses, but one in particular we found was quite common in bats where people were commonly exposed."
He further stated, "We consider this to be a potential zoonotic pathogen. Here we have a virus in bats, right now in a cave used by people highly exposed to bat faeces. And this virus is shed in bat faeces, so there is a real potential for emergence."
Notably, the British-born scientist has repeatedly rejected the lab leak theory, insisting that the coronavirus has natural origins.
This report comes as WHO reports a global increase in coronavirus cases, with hospitalisations up 42% across 50 countries.
Notably, JN.1 Covid variant, which appeared in France last September, once again led to a rise in fresh cases. The variant reportedly accounts for around 60% of new infections in early January, as per the data tracker from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The World Health Organisation has classified JN.1 as a separate "variant of interest" due to its rapid spread, but it poses a "low" global public health risk. The JN.1 sub-variant of the coronavirus was previously classified as a variant of interest (VOI) as part of the BA.2.86 sub-lineages, the parent lineage.
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