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Renowned virologist Shi Zhengli, recognized for her extensive work on viruses originating from animals, has issued a caution regarding the potential emergence of a new coronavirus in the future. Shi, often referred to as “batwoman,” emphasizes the importance of global preparedness in addressing such outbreaks, drawing upon the lessons learned from the devastating COVID-19 pandemic.
Serving as the director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Shi boasts over two decades of experience studying coronaviruses. A July 2023 report in the South China Morning Post (SCMP) highlighted a study conducted by Shi and her colleagues from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), which assessed the human spillover risk of 40 different coronavirus species. They classified half of them as “highly risky,” with six already known to have caused diseases in humans, and evidence suggesting that an additional three led to diseases or infected other animal species. The study strongly cautioned that “future disease emergence is almost certain, and it is highly likely to be a [coronavirus] disease.”
The research was founded on an analysis of viral characteristics, encompassing factors like population, genetic diversity, host species, and any previous history of zoonosis – diseases transferring from animals to humans. The scientists also pinpointed key hosts of the pathogen, including natural hosts like bats and rodents, as well as possible intermediate hosts such as camels, civets, pigs, or pangolins. They additionally devised swift and sensitive testing tools for actively monitoring these high-risk viruses.
As reported by SCMP, Shi’s paper garnered significant attention on Chinese social media, coinciding with the U.S. federal agency’s decision to withhold funding from WIV for the next decade. Some U.S. officials have accused WIV of conducting potentially hazardous gain-of-function experiments on bat coronaviruses, and have suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic may have originated from a Chinese lab. However, U.S. intelligence documents from June stated that there was no conclusive evidence supporting the lab leak hypothesis.
Shi’s warning surfaces amidst the ongoing global struggle to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed the lives of over 4.5 million people and infected more than 230 million worldwide.
