Shi Zhengli, widely known as ‘Batwoman’ in China, has warned that another coronavirus outbreak is “highly likely” in the future, according to the South China Morning Post. The virologist warned in a recent research paper titled ‘Assessment and sero-diagnosis for coronaviruses with risk of human spillover’ that the world must be prepared for another disease, similar to COVID-19, because “if a coronavirus caused diseases to emerge before, there is a high chance it will cause future outbreaks.”
”It is almost certain that there will be future disease emergence and it is highly likely a coronavirus disease again”
Ms. Zhengli and colleagues from the Wuhan Institute of Virology conducted the study, which assessed the human spillover risk of 40 coronavirus species. Half of these species are deemed ”very dangerous,” according to the researchers. Six of them are already known to have caused diseases that infected humans, while three more are known to have caused disease or infected other animal species.
”It is almost certain that there will be future disease emergence and it is highly likely a [coronavirus] disease again,” the study warned.
According to SCMP, the study was based on an investigation of viral features such as population, genetic diversity, host species, and any previous history of zoonosis. The study additionally identified pathogen hosts such as bats and rodents, as well as putative intermediate hosts such as camels, civets, pigs, and pangolins.
WHO also stated that the world must prepare for the next pandemic, dubbed ”Disease X”
Other Chinese virologists, however, disputed the assertions, while others were hesitant to comment on Ms Zhengli’s latest results.
Meanwhile, another expert from China’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) informed the journal under the condition of anonymity that ”Chinese authorities are downplaying COVID-19, and some cities have stopped releasing infection data.”
The Wuhan Institute of Virology has come under fire, with some US politicians propagating the hypothesis that COVID-19 was caused by an unintentional leak from the lab. According to an AFP story, the head of US intelligence claimed there is no evidence to support the claim.
In May of this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) leader stated that the world must prepare for the next pandemic, dubbed ”Disease X,” which could be “even deadlier” than Covid-19. The word “represents the knowledge that a serious international epidemic could be caused by a pathogen currently unknown to cause human disease,” according to the WHO website.
It could be a new agent, such as a virus, bacterium, or fungus, with no recognized treatments. The word was first used by the WHO in 2018. COVID-19 began to spread over the world a year later.