Wuhan scientists warn of 'deadlier' coronavirus strain NeoCov: all we know so far

Chinese scientists have issued a warning about a new type of coronavirus called ‘NeoCov’, which is said to have a high death and transmission rate.

Russian news agency Sputnik reported that scientists from China’s Wuhan, where the Covid-19 virus was first discovered in 2019, have warned of ‘NeoCov’ in South Africa.

Associated with the MERS-CoV virus, the report however states that the ‘NeoCov’ virus is not new and it was discovered in outbreaks in Middle Eastern countries in 2012 and 2015 and is similar to the SARS-CoV-2, which causes coronavirus in humans.

First found in a bat population in South Africa, the virus has only been known to spread among these animals. According to researchers from Wuhan University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Biophysics, only one mutation is required for the virus to infiltrate human cells.

The research findings stated that the novel coronavirus poses a risk because it binds to the ACE2 receptor differently than the coronavirus pathogen. As a result, neither antibodies nor protein molecules produced by people with respiratory diseases or who have been immunised can protect against NeoCoV.

The Sputnik reported that following a briefing on NeoCoV, experts from the Russian State Virology and Biotechnology Research Center issued a statement on Thursday. The statement noted that the potential risks outlined by Wuhan scientists needed to be studied and probed further.