The Měnglà virus was found in fruit bats in China, and potentially could infect humans and other animals, scientists have said. (iStock, File)
A new virus similar to Ebola has been discovered in China, according to reports.
The Měnglà virus was found in fruit bats, and potentially could infect humans and other animals, according to a study published in Nature Microbiology.
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Scientists have said the virus is in the same family as Ebola — they are filoviruses, which are extremely pathogenic, and can cause deadly fevers, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There is no evidence yet that Měnglà has spread to humans.
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“Studying the genetic diversity and geographic distribution of bat-borne filoviruses is very important for risk assessment and outbreak prevention as this type of infectious disease can affect the general public without warning with devastating consequences,” said Wang Lin-Fa, a professor at Duke-NUS Medical in Singapore and an author of the study, in a statement.
Měnglà is the seventh filovirus that has been found, of which four are known to cause disease in humans, the CDC said.
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