Coronavirus is 'just the tip of the iceberg,' says China's top bat researcher

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A top virologist in China has warned that the coronavirus pandemic could be "just the tip of the iceberg” in terms of worldwide outbreaks of never-before-seen infectious diseases.

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"The unknown viruses that we have discovered are actually just the tip of the iceberg," said Shi Zhengli, who is nicknamed China’s “bat woman” for her research on many SARS-like diseases in these mammals, according to a translation by the Chinese news station CGTN. "If we want to protect humans from viruses or avoid a second outbreak of new infectious diseases, we must go in advance to learn of these unknown viruses carried by wild animals in nature and then give early warnings.”

“If we don’t study [the viruses], there will possibly be another outbreak,” she added.

Chinese virologist Shi Zhengli is seen inside the P4 laboratory in Wuhan, the capital of China's Hubei province, on February 23, 2017. (AFP via Getty Images)

A renowned virologist, Shi is best known for her work with bat coronaviruses at her lab at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). She discovered the natural bat reservoir for the SARS pathogen that spread in southern China from 2002 to 2003.

Rumors in mid-April claimed that Shi had been "muzzled" by the government following the initial outbreak.

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As of Monday morning, the novel coronavirus has infected more than 5,421,679 people across 188 countries and territories, resulting in over 345,223 deaths.

Fox News’ Peter Aitken contributed to this report.