A group of Chinese scientists from Wuhan have warned of a new type of Coronavirus - NeoCoV - which has a potentially high death and infection rate. 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.
NeoCov is said to be a combination of high mortality rate of MERS-CoV (where one in three infected people die on average) and the high transmission rate of the current SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. NeoCoV can not be cured by antibodies nor protein molecules produced by people with respiratory diseases.
According to Chinese scientists, NeoCov can penetrate human cells in the same way as SARS-CoV-2. It is only one mutation away from becoming dangerous for humans, researchers said in a paper shared via the bioRxiv electronic library.
Associated with the MERS-CoV virus, it was discovered in outbreaks in Middle Eastern countries in 2012 and 2015 and is similar to the the SARS-CoV-2, which causes coronavirus in humans.
Reacting to the findings of the new study, Russian researchers from Vector Russian State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology said that they were aware of the Chinese research on NeoCoV coronavirus.
“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,” News 18 reported quoting the statement.