Wuhan Scientists Warn About New COVID NeoCov Virus With High Infection, Death Rate: Report

Image Credit: Unsplash and Unsplash (Representational)

The Logical Indian Crew

Wuhan Scientists Warn About New COVID 'NeoCov' Virus With High Infection, Death Rate: Report

The Chinese researchers revealed that NeoCoV harbours the possible assortment of MERS-high CoV's mortality rate (one in every three infected individuals dies) and the current SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus's high rate of transmission.

  • Whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Linkedin
  • Print
  • koo
  • Whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Linkedin
  • Print
  • koo
  • Whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Linkedin
  • Print
  • koo

Researchers from China's Wuhan, where the first COVID-19 virus was discovered in 2019, have again sent a warning regarding a new type of virus called the "NeoCov" in South Africa. As per the scientists, NeoCov has a much higher transmission and death rate than sell. However, this NeoCov COVID virus isn't a new one.

The MERS-CoV virus was first discovered during an outbreak in the Middle Eastern nations in 2012 and 2015 and had similar identities to the SARS-CoV-2, which causes coronavirus in human beings, reported News18.

While this NeoCoV virus was found in a bat population in South Africa and has solely been understood to spread among these creatures, a new study released as a preprint on the bioRxiv website found that NeoCoV and its close relative PDF-2180-CoV can now also infect humans.

What Is The NeoCov Virus?

As per the researchers from Wuhan University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Biophysics, just one mutation is needed for the virus to penetrate human cells. The research findings also revealed that COVID-19 is a risk as it binds to the ACE2 receptor differently from the COVID pathogen. Due to this, neither protein molecules nor antibodies produced by humans with respiratory diseases nor who have been immunised can protect themselves against this NeoCoV virus.

The Chinese researchers also added that the NeoCoV harbours the possible assortment of MERS-high CoV's mortality rate (one in every three infected individuals dies) and the current SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus's high rate of transmission.

A Variant Of Conern?

Right after a briefing on NeoCoV, experts from the Russian State Virology and Biotechnology Research Center also released a statement on January 27, where they said: "The Vector research centre is aware of the data obtained by Chinese researchers on the NeoCoV coronavirus. At the moment, the issue is not the emergence of a new coronavirus capable of actively spreading among humans."

They also added that the potential risks outlined also required to be examined and probed further.

Also Read: Kerala's Literacy Activist KV Rabiya Receives Padma Shree

Contributors Suggest Correction
Writer : Snehadri Sarkar
,
Editor : Ankita Singh
,
Creatives : Snehadri Sarkar

Must Reads