New Variant…?

According to sources, Neo-CoV has been sparking debates ever since word got out.Let us start off by understanding what Neo-CoV really means.

But before that, here’s an important piece of information:Neo-CoV is not a new variant of the corona virus.Yes, you read that right. The name of this variant has been creating a lot of panic in people. Neo-CoV belongs to MERS-CoV, a virus from the family of the seven corona viruses that are known to have the ability to infect humans.

Sources say that in 2010s, this virus caused many outbreaks in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Korea. The World Health Organization reports that 35% of people infected with this virus have died. Neo-CoV could be a variant of this virus.

Up until now, it has been hard for researchers to trace whether this variant has just been discovered or if it is old. But there are some facts that have been pointed out on twitter by experts. Neo-CoV is the closest relative of MERS-CoV but till now, it has not been found in man.

It has only been found in bats.The research paper that caused panic is basically trying to inform that this variant may be able to infect humans if it goes through a certain type of mutation. Now this would require a lot of hypothesizing.

Therefore, as of now, the possibility of this variant being able to infect any human being is well within theory and is yet to be studied. Hence, there is no possible reason for anybody to panic at this moment.

Updated by Urvi Ramchandani