‘NeoCov’ Virus

‘NeoCov’ Virus

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – News of the emergence of a new type of coronavirus, with the potential to kill one of every three infected people, has been circulating on the internet for the last couple of days.

Concept –

• A NeoCov virus does indeed exist, and it was indeed found in the bat population in South Africa some time ago. It is supposed to have very close resemblance to the coronavirus that caused the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2012.
• In their study, the Chinese researchers found that the bat receptors used by the NeoCoV were similar to the one that is used by SARS-CoV2 for infecting human beings.
• NeoCov has been found only in bats and never infected a human being. Its potential to kill one in three people has been drawn from the fact that it is a very close relative of MERS coronavirus.
• The wider set of coronaviruses that MERS belongs to, called Merbecoviruses, have a high case fatality rate of approximately 35 per cent, the research paper said.
• With NeoCov closely related to the Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronaviruses — traditionally more lethal but less transmissible than SARS-CoV-2 — the study has raised concern that this too may lethally proliferate in people.
• SARS-CoV-2, for instance, spreads the way it does because it has figured out a way to use the enzyme called human angiotensin converter 2 (hACE2) to infect cells.
• The scientists reported that they have, for the first time, shown NeoCov too uses bat ACE2. However, this ACE2 is specific to the sub-species of bat and when the scientists checked if the NeoCov could use hACE2, it turned out to be a “less favourable” mode of entry.
• A single molecular barrier, close to where the virus bound to cells, “restricted” the human ACE2 from aiding a NeoCov infection.
• However, when a mutation was artificially introduced, it made the NeoCov 15-30 times more efficient at infecting human ACE2. Moreover, the study said, the infection could not be suppressed by antibodies targeting SARSCoV¬2 or MERS-CoV.
• Despite similarities, the ACE2 receptors of bats and people were different and the odds of a sudden jump were low.