A group of scientists in Wuhan have sounded alarm bells for a new variant of coronavirus, dubbed as ‘NeoCoV’, which they claim is both highly infectious and virulent, leading to the death of 1 in 3 patients infected by the novel strain.
Related to the Middle East respiratory syndrome MERS-coronavirus, NeoCoV carries with it the potentially combined 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, the researchers have said.
A research report published in bioRxiv website says COVID-19 vaccinations are inadequate to protect humans from any complications caused by the infections caused by the NeoCoV virus. It is notable to mention, however, that the study has not been peer-reviewed so far and has been released in preprint.
According to a report published in Sputnik, the new strain of coronavirus was found first in the bat population in South Africa and was then spread to other animal specified. The scientists claim the virus needs just mutation to turn it into a zoonotic pathogen, capable of infiltrating human cells.
As per research, the strain is significantly more dangerous than other variants because of its ability to bind to the ACE2 receptor differently than the previous strains. As a consequence, the antibodies and protein molecules produced by humans are not immune to fight the respiratory diseases and complications induced by the infection caused by the NeoCoV.
In response to the findings of the new study, Russian researchers from Vector Russian State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology are believed to be aware of the research conducted by Wuhan scientists on NeoCoV coronavirus. But they added that the new virus at present is not capable of transmitting among thw humans.
The research findings come at a time when the coronavirus caseloads are once again on the rise across the globe, driven by the new highly infectious variant of the virus, Omicron.