NeoCov:
NeoCoV is a bat coronavirus that was first identified in 2011.
- It was identified in a species of bats known as Neoromicia, which is where the name NeoCoV was derived from.
- Commonly known as aloe bats, this species is distributed in the Afro-Malagasy region. NeoCoV shares an 85% similarity to MERS-CoV in the genome sequence, making it the closest known relative of MERS-CoV
- Scientists in China have warned about a new strain of coronavirus, NeoCov, related to the Middle East respiratory syndrome MERS-coronavirus.
- NeoCoV carries with it the potentially combined high mortality rate of MERS-CoV (where one in three infected people die on average) and the high transmission rate of the current SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
