Chinas bat woman researcher warns that the deadly coronavirus surfacing now is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what humans may soon face without a global effort to prevent similar infectious outbreaks.

If we want to prevent human beings from suffering from the next infectious-disease outbreak, we must go in advance to learn of these unknown viruses carried by wild animals in nature and give early warnings, Shi Zhengli, a top Chinese scientist specialising in viral transmissions from bats, told CGTN in an interview that aired Monday.

If we dont study [the viruses], there will possibly be another outbreak, warned Shi, who was dubbed bat woman by the press because of her research involving the mammals.