Identified in 2012, the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was transferred to humans through infected dromedary camels through zoonosis. Since its identification, MERS-CoV has infected over 2000 people, specifically in several countries in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. The case fatality rate for MERS is estimated by WHO to be 35%, but the number may be overestimated since disease surveillance systems could have missed milder cases of MERS-CoV.
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.
It is important to note that inherently, NeoCoV cannot interact with human receptors, implying that in its current form the virus cannot infect humans. NeoCoV does not infect humans yet and has thus not caused any deaths. However, there is the possibility that it may mutate into a human-infectious form.
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