Wuhan scientists warn of new coronavirus strain NeoCov with high death, infection rate
According to a report by the Russian news agency Sputnik, NeoCoV which was first found in bats in South Africa has a high death and transmission rate.
FollowA group of Chinese scientists from Wuhan, where the Covid-19 virus was first discovered in 2019, have warned of a new type of Coronavirus - NeoCoV - which has a potentially high death and infection rate, currently circulating in South Africa. The study has found that NeoCoV and its close relative, PDF-2180-CoV have the ability to infect humans.
According to a report by the Russian news agency Sputnik, the NeoCov virus is reportedly related to the Middle East respiratory syndrome MERS-COV. NeoCoV was first found in the bat population in South Africa, and it then spread among animals, according to the Sputnik report.
A new study recently claimed that one mutation could lead to the virus being passed from animals to humans. While NeoCoV was discovered in a bat population in South Africa and has only been known to spread among these animals, a new unpeered study published as a preprint on the bioRxiv website discovered that NeoCoV and its close relative PDF-2180-CoV can infect humans.
“In this study, we unexpectedly found that NeoCoV and its close relative, PDF-2180-CoV, can efficiently use some types of bat Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and, less favourably, human ACE2 for entry,” TASS, a Russian News agency reported quoting the paper.
“Our study demonstrates the first case of ACE2 usage in MERS-related viruses, shedding light on a potential bio-safety threat of the human emergence of an ACE2 using ‘MERS-CoV-2’ with both high fatality and transmission rate,” it said.
This comes after WHO’s technical lead on Covid-19, Maria van Kerkhove claimed that Omicron will not be the last variant of the coronavirus and there could be more in the future.
“This virus is still evolving and changing and we need to change and adjust accordingly. We not only have to increase the vaccination coverage around the world, but also try and transition out. It will not end with the latest wave and Omicron will not be the last variant we speak about, unfortunately,” Maria van Kerkhove told the BBC in an interview.
