It is the closest relative to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).
In a paper published on the bioRxiv website, the researchers said in a paper published on the bioRxiv website, there is only one more mutation that is unlikely to become dangerous to humans and has not been evaluated by colleagues.
However, according to the WHO, the question of whether the NeoCov virus, recently discovered in bats in South Africa, poses a threat to humans, requires further study.
“Whether the virus detected in the study poses a danger to humans will require further study,” the health agency told TASS news agency.
The WHO added that it “works closely” with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) to “monitor and respond to the threat of emerging zoonotic viruses.”
The WHO told TASS that its experts were aware of the study and “thanks to the researchers who shared their findings in a pre-print.”
“Animals, especially wildlife, are the source of more than 75% of all emerging infectious diseases in humans, many of which are caused by new viruses. Coronaviruses are commonly found in animals. , including in bats identified as natural reservoirs, the agency said.
The study “provides the first use case of ACE2 in MERS-related viruses, shedding light on the potential biosafety threat of emerging human ACE2 using ‘MERS-CoV-2’ with both high mortality and transmission rates”.
Notably, infection could not be cross-neutralized by antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2 or MERS-CoV, the researchers said.
Meanwhile, Russian scientists note that the discovery of this variety shows that variants of the virus capable of binding to human receptors without any adaptation are circulating directly. in the wild, TASS reported.
However, it is difficult to assess how dangerous it is, said Sergey Alkhovsky, Head of the Biotechnology Laboratory of the Gamaleya Center.
“This is a pretty serious, exciting discovery, but it’s very difficult to estimate the direct danger of this particular strain. We can confirm that there are countless strains of this species circulating in the wild and we It is necessary to study this diversity and promote research in this area,” he said at a meeting of the Scientific Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Source: IANS
