A new coronavirus feared to be able to spread to humans has been discovered by a China-linked scientist.

Researchers from Brazil and colleagues affiliated with the University of Hong Kong detected the new strain after swabbing the mouths and rectums of bats.

The novel strain is closely related to MERS — a disease that kills about 35 percent of the people it infects.

The makeup of the virus' spike protein, which it uses to trigger an infection, means it can probably infect human cells, the researchers warned.

The virus is now being transported to China, along with six other viruses discovered during the expedition.

Tests will be carried out to find out whether they can infect human cells, despite concerns about such experiments being linked to the Covid pandemic.

Revealing the discovery in Brazil, lead researcher Dr Bruna Silverio, from the University of Sao Paulo, said: 'Right now, we aren't sure it can infect humans.

'But we detected parts of the virus' spike protein (which binds to mammalian cells) suggesting potential interaction with the receptor used by MERS-CoV.'

She added: 'To find out more, we plan to conduct experiments in Hong Kong during the current year.' 

MERS is a contagious respiratory illness spread from animals to humans and from human to human. 

It causes fever, cough, shortness of breath, diarrhea and vomiting, and can be fatal in severe cases.

Only two patients in the US have ever tested positive for MERS — both in May 2014 — and each case was linked to travel from the Middle East. There is no vaccine against the virus.

Worldwide, the virus has triggered 2,613 cases and 943 deaths.

In the research, published in the Journal of Medical Virology, scientists took 423 oral and rectal swabs from 15 species of bats.

Lab analyses revealed the seven coronavirus strains were genetically different to any known pathogens.

The viruses were found in the velvety free-tailed bat and great fruit-eating bat, which both live across South America and Mexico.

Defending the paper, virologist Dr Ricardo Durães-Carvalho, who was also involved in the research, said: 'Bats are important viral reservoirs and should thereofre be submitted to continuous epidemiological surveillance.

'This monitoring helps identify circulating viruses and risks of transmission to other animals, and even to humans.'

It comes three weeks after scientists in China revealed they had discovered yet another coronavirus that could spread to humans.

In scenes eerily reminiscent of the beginnings of the Covid pandemic, researchers at the infamous Wuhan Institute of Virology detected the new strain living within bats.

HKU5-CoV-2 is strikingly similar to the pandemic virus, sparking fears that history could repeat itself just two years after the worst was declared over.