Scientists from China’s Wuhan, where the first-ever COVID-19 case was reported, have warned about a new type of Coronavirus called NeoCov, discovered in South Africa. The NeoCov strain has a high infection and death rate, posing the threat of high fatality scientists said.
Researchers from the Wuhan University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences‘ Institute of Biophysics have said that only one mutation is required for the virus to infiltrate human cells. They further warned that neither antibodies generated due to coronavirus nor COVID-19 vaccination could protect the human body against NeoCov.
According to the researchers, NeoCov possesses the potential combination of COVID-19’s high transmission rate and MERS-CoV’s high mortality rate. NeoCov has a mortality rate of around 33%, meaning one in three infected people die on average, they added.
After a briefing on NeoCoV, experts from the Russian State Virology and Biotechnology Research Center issued a statement on Thursday (January 27). It stated: “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.”
Warning from Wuhan: New Covid variant ‘NeoCov’
