NEW DELHI: A group of Chinese scientists have now warned of a new type of Coronavirus – NeoCoV – which has a potentially high death and infection rate. According to a Sputnik report, the NeoCov virus has been discovered in South Africa and it is reportedly related to the Middle East respiratory syndrome MERS-COV.
NeoCoV was first found in bats in South Africa and it then spread among animals, according to the Sputnik report. A new study recently claimed that one mutation could lead to the virus being passed from animals to humans.
The study found that NeoCoV and its close relative, PDF-2180-CoV have the ability to use some types of bat Angiotensin-converting enzyme2 (ACE2) and human ACE2 to enter the body.
The researchers have insisted that one mutation could result in the virus getting transmitted to human cells, Sputnik reported.
The startling revelation has been made by the scientists from the Wuhan University and Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
