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Another Covid epidemic similar to the recent deadly pandemic could be "highly likely", warned Chinese virologist Shi Zhengli, better known as "Batwoman", in a new study.
In the study, Shi and colleagues from the Wuhan Institute of Virology assessed the risk of transmission to humans of 40 coronavirus species.
The findings, published in July in the English-language journal Emerging Microbes and Infections, describe 20 "high" coronavirus species.
"If the coronavirus has caused disease in the past, there is a high probability that it will cause epidemics in the future," he was quoted as saying by the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Of those 40 species, six can already cause disease in humans, while there is evidence that three others cause disease or infect other animal species. "It is almost certain that disease will occur in the future, and it is very likely that (coronavirus) disease will occur again," the study warns.
The study was based on an analysis of the virus' characteristics, including population, genetic diversity, host species, and past zoonotic history - diseases that jump from animals to humans, the SCMP said.
Shi and colleagues also identified important hosts for the pathogen, including natural hosts such as bats and rodents, or potential intermediate hosts including camels, civets, pigs, or pangolins.
The research comes as Kate Bingham, the former head of the UK vaccine task force, warned in a new book about the coming pandemic, which could be caused by a million unknown viruses and kill around 50 million people.
Experts say thousands of different viruses could evolve to spark a pandemic. There is also the risk that viruses can jump between species and "dramatically mutate".