New Delhi: Amid the world being being stuck within the clutches of newer variants, reports of another variant ‘NeoCov’ has started already spreading. Scientists from Wuhan, China have warned that this strain has a high death and transmission rate.
The NeoCov strain is related to Middle East Respiratory Syndrome MERS COV. According to Chinese researchers, one in every three infected people dies from this strain.
The NeoCov is not a new variant as it was discovered in 2012 and 2015 in Middle Eastern countries and is very similar to SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus) in humans.
An interesting fact to note is that this strain was first found in bat populations and has been known to spread only among animals, according to a study published in bioRxiv website, which discovered the NeoCoV.
A report by the Russian news website Sputnik also said, “Our study demonstrates the first case of ACE2 usage in MERS-related viruses, shedding light on a potential bio-safety threat of the human emergence of an ACE2 using ‘MERS-CoV-2’ with both high fatality and transmission rate.”
Commenting on the potential risk of the novel strain, experts from Russian State Virology and Biotechnology Research Centre said, in a statement, “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.”
Studies show that the COVID-19 vaccinations may not be adequate enough to protect the immune system of the people. “Furthermore, our studies have shown that the current COVID-19 vaccinations are inadequate to protect humans from eventuality of the infection caused by this virus,” added the study published by bioRxiv website.
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