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It is now well known that viruses always change and take new forms, called “mutations.” Sometimes this new form of virus is more dangerous than the old one or can become more “innocent” than before. There may be some mutations that have no effect.
Why does the virus change shape in this way? The goal is usually to spread and reproduce more easily from one human body to another, or to survive by overcoming obstacles such as drugs or treatment.
Scientists already knew that coronaviruses can also take new forms through mutations. But in recent days, a new strain of coronavirus has been found in at least 60 locations in England. Scientists say the newly formed virus is responsible for the recent rapid rise in coronavirus infections in the area.
The World Health Organization has already been notified and British scientists have started a detailed investigation into the virus. Now the question is, where did this new type of coronavirus come from and how much do we have to worry about?
Is the behavior of the new coronavirus species different?
BBC science and health correspondent James Gallaher writes that the first question he asked when he saw the news of a new strain of coronavirus was: has there been any change in the behavior of the virus?
The news of a mutation in the virus strikes us as terrifying news. But mutations and self-mutating viruses are normal.
Many times this change makes almost no sense, sometimes it loses the ability to infect people and dies. Again, it can sometimes make the “winning formula” last longer and increase the infection.
Is the new mutation the cause of more infections?
That said, this new coronavirus mutation has been found in the south west of England. However, no specific evidence has yet been found that it can be transmitted from person to person, cause serious illness, or deal with vaccines more easily than before.
However, scientists are closely monitoring this new “strain” for two reasons. One reason is that this new strain has been found in areas where the number of infections is high.
This is a warning sign. However, it can be explained in two ways.
One is: there may have been a mutation in the coronavirus, which could have spread more easily, and that is why the number of infections is increasing.
Did the new mutation come from Spain?
But it could also be that this new strain infects “the right people at the right time.”
This is called ‘Spanish strain’. When people in Britain went on a summer vacation to Spain in August-September, they became infected with this particular mutation and brought it to Britain.
But undoubtedly this strain can spread more easily than others; there are many tests to be done in the laboratory.
Question 2: What exactly is a mutation?
The other thing that scientists look down on is: the kind of change that has taken place in the virus as a result of this mutation.
Nick Loman, Professor at Covid-19 Genomics UK (COG), told the BBC: However, some of these mutations have piqued our interest.
Scientists say that the mutation is of two types.
Many people now know that coronaviruses have prickly spikes and a special type of protein. The coronavirus uses this protein to break down the cell barrier of the human body and ‘occupy’ it.
The most important part of these peaks is the “receptor binding domain”. This is exactly the part that changed the mutation called ‘N Five Zero One’.
The coronavirus first comes into contact with the cells of the human body through this spiny part. If there is a change that makes it easier for the virus to enter the body, then it is a major change.
Professor Loman says it looks like a significant change. Another mutation in the coronavirus is called H6N9 / V7Zero. Found several times before searching. This mutation was found, especially in Holland and Denmark, on the farm of a species called mink (whose hair is used to make clothes).
It is concerning that the antibodies found in Mink’s blood that survived the infection were less effective in attacking the mutation. But even in this case, you have to do more tests in the lab to understand what exactly is going on.
“We know there is a different strain of coronavirus, but we don’t yet know what it means biologically,” said Alan McNally, a professor at the University of Birmingham.
“It is not yet the time to decide if it is important or how much.”
But as a result of this mutation, will the vaccine no longer work?
If there is a mutation in the spikes or spines of the coronavirus, then the question naturally arises as to whether the vaccine will continue to work. Because, in all the vaccines made by Pfizer, Moderna and Oxford-AstraZeneca, the human immune system is ‘taught’ to attack the coronavirus spike.
However, according to James Gallagher, vaccination can infect many parts of the beak of the human body. That is why experts are convinced that the vaccine will be equally effective against this new strain of coronavirus.
This particular virus is a virus that evolved in the animal body and began infecting the human body just over a year ago. Since then, he has suffered a mutation every two months.
If you take a sample of the coronavirus today and compare it to the virus that was first found in Wuhan, China, you can see that there have been around 25 changes between them. The coronavirus is constantly producing new mutations, so that it can infect the human body more effectively.
We have seen this happen before. Previously, it was said about another type of coronavirus called G6 One Four that “the virus is now adapting for easy spread.”
But soon after, when people are vaccinated en masse, a new challenge will emerge from the coronavirus. Then he has to change himself (again) to infect the vaccinated person.
Now, if a vaccine does cause a new evolution of the virus, then we may need to update or change that vaccine to keep it effective. That is what we are doing in the case of the common flu.
Source: BBC
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