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Wuhan has been remembered by most of us as the “zero” place where the COVID-19 pandemic began. The Chinese city is again on the lips of the whole world, this time thanks to the discoveries of local scientists. Wuhan researchers say one of the coronaviruses from Africa – NeoCoV – has the potential to cause a pandemic. All because of its probable infectivity and high mortality, which can be caused by infection caused by it. We asked experts whether we should be afraid of him.
- NeoCoV is a coronavirus that occurs in bats in Central Africa
- Chinese scientists took a closer look at it and found it to be very similar to the MERS-CoV virus, the cause of Middle Eastern Respiratory Failure Syndrome with a mortality rate of 35%.
- If this coronavirus evolved and spread to humans, it would pose a real threat to our health and life
- Prof. dr hab. Agnieszka Szuster-Ciesielska and prof. dr hab. Krzysztof Pyrć explain why NeoCoV caused such a stir and whether we should worry about it now
- More information can be found on the Onet homepage
What is the NeoCoV virus?
NeoCoV is not a newly discovered pathogen. It is a coronavirus found in the Central African bat population. For now, it is only spreading among animals, but there is a risk that it will spread to humans. This is very bad news as this virus can spread rapidly and be much more lethal than SARS-CoV-2.
Researchers in Wuhan, China, in an article published on bioRxiv (the publication has not yet been reviewed), claim that NeoCoV is closely related to corona virus MERS-CoVcausing a disease called Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (Ang. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome). It is a condition of the upper respiratory tract, manifested by fever, shortness of breath, chills, cough with severe expectoration, as well as pain in muscles and joints, and general fatigue. It is estimated that the mortality caused by this disease is 35%.
- Also read: MERS virus – death from the Middle East
The MERS-CoV virus was first isolated in 2012 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. There were then many cases of MERS, especially among healthcare professionals. The virus has spread throughout most of the Middle East, causing an epidemic. Another was announced three years later in South Korea. A total of 186 people fell ill with MERS, 36 of whom died.
Camels and bats are presumed to be the main reservoirs of MERS-CoV. It is likely that the virus spreads from person to person through direct contact with an infected person. The risk of death from MERS disease is highest in the elderly, the chronically ill and the debilitated after surgery.
How dangerous is NeoCoV?
Chinese researchers say NeoCoV and its close relative PDF-2180-CoV may cause similar symptoms and have similar mortality. All thanks to DPP-4 receptors (dipeptidyl peptidase 4), which NeoCoV uses to get into the body of a potential host. In the case of bats and humans, it is the ACE2 enzyme, located in the cell membrane – the same one that is used by the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for contracting COVID-19.
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Although so far NeoCoV uses this “entry” only in bats, according to the authors of the publication, “only one mutation is enough for the virus to penetrate human cells”.
The article also states that current COVID-19 vaccines may not protect us from the new coronavirus. «Immunity from previous infection or vaccination with other coronaviruses may not be sufficient to protect people from NeoCoV and PDF-2180-CoV infections, as neither SARS-CoV-2 antisera nor 10 tested anti-MERS-CoV nanobodies can cross inhibit infection caused by these two viruses ».
The World Health Organization said that “only further research will show whether the virus described by Chinese researchers will pose a threat to humans”. The WHO also assured that it “watches and responds to emerging threats from zoonotic viruses”.
- See also: Will we be facing another pandemic?
Should we be afraid? Opinions of virologists
How high is the risk that the new coronavirus will spread to humans and cause another pandemic? We asked two prominent Polish virologists, prof. dr hab. Agnieszka Szuster-Ciesielska from the Department of Virology and Immunology at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin and prof. dr hab. Krzysztof Pyrć, head of the Laboratory of Virology at the Małopolska Center of Biotechnology of the Jagiellonian University.
All coronaviruses attacking humans so far, before reaching them, infected the so-called intermediate hosts (e.g. in the case of SARS-CoV-2 a pangolin is considered such). According to Chinese scientists, NeoCoV has the potential to convert to humans, but before that it would have to mutate and reach an intermediary animal, which has yet to be recognized. Bats are the focus of scientists’ attention because they are the source of many viruses, including coronaviruses. This is why treat this information calmly and watch NeoCoV carefully.
The whole news is that Chinese scientists have noticed that the coronavirus found in bats could potentially evolve to use the same receptor as SARS-CoV-2, thus reaching humans. Whereas it has nothing to do with the emergence of the new coronavirus in humans or with a new virus. This is a scientific observation of the evolution of the virus as it occurs in animals. Comparing NeoCoV to MERS-CoV, which has a very high mortality rate, the authors suggest that the pathways for spreading these viruses need to be looked at more carefully as potential future transfer could lead to a pandemic worse than SARS. Again, this has nothing to do with the emergence of a new virus or with the real threat that is present here and now.
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