NeoCoV Poses No Threat In Current Form, Say Health Experts

Bhubaneswar: Health experts have refuted the Chinese researchers’ claim about potential threat to humanity by NeoCoV coronavirus and said it poses no actual danger in its current form.

The experts said the virus, which uses bat ACE2 receptors, cannot bind to human ACE2 receptors unless it acquires a significant mutation. NeoCoV is, in fact, an old virus (first identified in 2011 in bats) that is closely related to MERS CoV that uses DPP4 receptors to enter cells, they added.

“NeoCOV can use ACE2 receptors of bats, but it cannot use human ACE2 receptors unless a new mutation occurs. Everything else that is being said about the virus is hype,” TOI quoted State Task Force member Dr Shashank Joshi as saying.

Vinod Scaria, principal scientist at Delhi-based CSIR-IGIB, also said transmission of a virus from animals to humans is a rare occurrence. “The virus, in natural form, does not infect humans. Since it has not infected humans yet, it has not caused any deaths. NeoCoV cannot inherently bind to human ACE2 receptors, but artificial mutations can enhance binding. However, such mutations are not naturally found in NeoCoV,” he added.

According to virologist Dr Shahid Jameel, NeoCoV has been found in a kind of bat and is the closest so far in its genetic makeup to the MERS CoV that emerged in humans in 2012 via camels. As NeoCoV binds well to bat ACE2 receptor, but not human ACE2 receptor, it’s unlikely to infect humans, he added.

The Chinese paper, which is yet to be peer-reviewed, had sparked considerable alarm. But the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said the Chinese claim needs further study to ascertain if the virus poses a risk to humans.

The WHO asserted that the source of 75% of infectious diseases in humans was wild animals. “Coronaviruses are often found in animals, including in bats which have been identified as a natural reservoir of many of these viruses,” the WHO said.

Also Read: NeoCov Coronavirus Discovered By Chinese Scientists Needs Further Study: WHO