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LONDON (Reuters) – British scientists are trying to determine whether the rapid spread of a new variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 in southern England is related to essential mutations they detected in the strain, as they reported today.
The mutations include changes in the important “spike” protein that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus uses to infect human cells, said a group of scientists who track the genetics of the virus, but it is unclear whether these make it more infectious.
“Efforts are being made to confirm whether any of these mutations are contributing to further transmission or not,” scientists from the UK’s Covid-19 Genomics Consortium (COG-UK) said in a statement.
The new variant, which British scientists dubbed “VUI – 202012/01,” includes a genetic mutation in the “spike” protein that, in theory, could make COVID-19 more easily spread between people.
Yesterday, the British government cited an increase in new infections, which it said could be partially linked to the new variant, by subjecting the capital and many other areas to a greater scale of restrictions against covid-19.
As of December 13, 1,108 cases of Covid-19 with the new variant had been identified, predominantly in the south and east of England, England Public Health reported in a statement.
But there is currently no evidence that the variant can cause serious COVID-19 infections, the scientists said, or that it makes vaccines less efficient.
“Both of these questions require further study to be carried out quickly,” said the COG-UK scientists.
Mutations, or genetic changes, occur naturally in all viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, as they replicate and circulate in human populations.
In the case of SARS-CoV-2, these mutations accumulate at a rate of one or two per month worldwide, according to genetic experts at COG-UK.
“As a result of this ongoing process, many thousands of mutations have already emerged in the SARS-CoV-2 genome since the virus emerged in 2019,” they explained.
Most of the mutations observed so far have had no apparent effect on the virus, and only a minority are likely to alter the virus in significant ways, for example, making it more capable of infecting people, more prone to causing serious illness. or less. sensitive to natural or vaccine-induced immune defenses.
