Newly Found NeoCov COVID Variant from Bats Possibly Deadlier than Previous Strain
Jyoti Prakash Sahoo*
Dept. of Agricultural Biotechnology, College of Agriculture, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha (751 003), India
Pranaya Pradhan
Dept. of Nematology, College of Agriculture, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha (751 003), India
Sudhanya Nath
Dept. of Animal Nutrition, West Bengal University of Animal & Fishery Sciences, Kolkata, West Bengal (700 037), India
Kailash Chandra Samal
Dept. of Agricultural Biotechnology, College of Agriculture, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha (751 003), India
DOI: NIL
Keywords: Bats, Covid, MERS-CoV, NeoCov
Abstract
News of the emergence of a new type of coronavirus claimed that this new virus, called NeoCov, was discovered in South Africa amongst bats, and it could enter human cells. The news reports are based on a Chinese research paper that is yet to be peer-reviewed. NeoCov is closely related to the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), a viral disease first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012. The virus carries the high mortality rate as MERS-CoV and the high transmission rate as the current Covid virus. NeoCov can penetrate human cells in the same way as SARSCoV2. NeoCov does not infect humans in its current form, but further mutations may potentially make it harmful. As per the scientists, the NeoCov infection could not be neutralized by antibodies that target the Covid virus.
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Reference
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