A Chinese woman was filmed eating a bat in a plush restaurant, despite fears the new deadly coronvirus could have been spread by a soup made from the mammal.
Footage shows the woman holding the bat with enormous chopsticks and nibbling on its wings. Bat soup is a delicacy in the country and a popular dish in Wuhan, where the virus originated.
While the woman appears tentative about her meal, her partner gets stuck in, removing the bat's skin and and pulling the meat from bones.
A man can be heard telling the woman in Mandarin: "Eat the meat! [Don't] eat the skin."
He added: "'[You] should eat the meat on its back."
The couple appeared to be sharing a large pot of bat soup, placed in the middle of the table.
Coronavirus first broke two weeks ago, claiming 26 lives in the country so far and affecting 830 people.
Other suspected cases have been reported in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, UK, the US and Vietnam.
Researchers in China claimed the fatal strain of coronavirus shares a common ancestor with a virus found only in fruit bats.
In a statement, the researchers said: “The Wuhan coronavirus’ natural host could be bats … but between bats and humans there may be an unknown intermediate."
Bats are popular in Chinese medicine, believed to cure a range of illnesses like malaria and and coughing. Its faeces is thought to cure eye ailments.
The disease is little understood and scientists now claim the virus could stem from snakes.
Dr Tedros, the director-general of WHO, said: "We know that most of those who have died had underlying health conditions such as hypertension, diabetes or cardiovascular disease, that weakened their immune systems.
"We know that there is human-to-human transmission in China, but for now it appears limited to family groups and health workers caring for infected patients.
"At this time, there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission outside China, but that doesn't mean it won't happen."
Symptoms of coronavirus include fever, sneezing and coughing.
