Chinese scientists have discovered never-before-seen viruses lurking on a tropical island — and warned they could infect humans.
Researchers tasked with preparing the world for future pandemic took almost 700 samples from rodents living in Hainan, just off China’s southern coast.
Eight novel viruses — including one belonging to the same family as Covid — were uncovered in the project, funded by the Chinese Government.
Experts said the discovered pathogens had a ‘high probability’ of infecting humans should they ever cross the species barrier.
As a result, they called for further experiments on the viruses to determine exactly what their effects on humans could be.