Status: 26.09.2023, 06:25 a.m.
By: Nadja Zinsmeister
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Researchers from Wuhan are sure that another outbreak of a coronavirus must be expected in the future. Various hotspots are conceivable.
Wuhan - Researcher Shi Zhengli from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) is considered a globally recognized coronavirus expert. In a published text, the virologist, together with colleagues, now warns of a new coronavirus that could break out in the future. A scenario in which society is confronted with a new coronavirus from an indefinite date is therefore "highly likely".
"It is almost certain that diseases will occur in the future, and it is very likely that it will be a CoV disease again," the collaborating researchers write in their publication, which was published in July in the scientific journal "Emerging Microbes & Infections". The risk: According to the publication, infectious diseases caused by coronaviruses in particular pose a major threat to public health. German experts also continue to emphasise the importance of getting vaccinated against Covid, for example.
Virologist from Wuhan warns of "high probability" of new corona outbreaks
Shi Zhengli plays a central role in an ongoing global debate and investigation into the origin of Covid-19 disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. She is also known by the nickname "Bat Woman" because she focuses on research on viruses that pass from animals - especially bats - to humans. Now, according to Zenggli, the world should be prepared for a new virus. "If a coronavirus has caused disease before, there is a high probability that it will continue to cause outbreaks in the future."
A medical worker at a laboratory in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province. (Symbolic photo) © Cheng Min/XinHua/dpa
The information and assessments of the virologists in the publication thus remain very vague. In the end, no one can predict when a new coronavirus can break out. The content of the research should be considered more than a "dictionary of coronaviruses," a scientist from China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told the South China Morning Post. Although the study does not provide groundbreaking new information, it does provide an important basis for dealing with the viruses: "Just as we need a mushroom textbook to avoid eating harmful mushrooms, it is necessary to develop such tools for pathogens."
Pathogens and hotspots for new coronaviruses: These scenarios are conceivable, according to the researchers
According to the researchers, the CoV species that cause disease in humans would likely be the causative agents of a future outbreak. In addition, it is assumed that in the event of a new outbreak, "the hotspots would be bat-borne ACE2-usage SARSr-CoV, camel-borne MERS-CoV, or domestic mammalian-borne alphaCoV1 and betaCoV1."
The fact that corona viruses pose a serious threat to health in society is repeatedly discussed. It was only in September that a study was published that found damage to the brain and kidneys in addition to severe lung damage in Long Covid patients. (nz)
