NeoCov: Wuhan scientists warn of deadlier Covid variant. All you need to know
Even as the fast-spreading Omicron strain started waning in parts of the world, another variant of the coronavirus disease – NeoCov – is creating a buzz after scientists from Wuhan in China, where the Covid-19 pandemic originated, flagged concerns that it may have much higher rate of transmission compared to previous strains and could potentially be the deadliest of them all.
Discovered in a bat population in South Africa, the virus was known to be spreading only among animals. However, it has now been found that NeoCoV and PDF-2180-CoV use some types of angiotensin-converting enzyme, including bat ACE2 and human ACE2 for entry.
“Immunity triggered by prior infection or vaccination of other coronaviruses might be inadequate to protect humans from NeoCoV and PDF-2180-CoV infections because neither SARS-CoV-2 anti-sera nor ten tested anti-MERS-CoV nanobodies can cross-inhibit the infection caused by these two viruses,” the researchers stated.
