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PHOTO: Reuters
The novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which has traveled the world and killed more than 1.5 million people in the past year, has mutated into seven main strains to adapt to its hosts, Reuters reported.
Tracking and understanding these changes is key to developing strategies to control the COVID-19 infection caused by the virus.
“The reason we’re looking at the genome is to try to figure out where it came from. It’s important information in predicting what to expect,” said Nicolas Spurrier, South Australia’s chief health inspector after the state’s widespread outbreak. in November, BTA reports.
Reuters analyzes more than 185,000 genomic samples from the world’s largest database with the genomic sequence of the new Global Coronavirus Initiative to Share All Influenza Data (GISAID) to show how the global dominance of individual strains changes with time.
The original strain detected in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 was the LA strain in early 2020, the virus mutated into the S strain, followed by the V and G strains. The latter changed to GR, GH and GV variants. Several other less common variations are combined in strain O.
A mutation is a change in the body’s genetic material. When a virus replicates in millions of copies and moves from host to host, not all copies are identical. These small differences add up as the virus spreads and copies itself over and over again.
At first, the virus spread rapidly around the world, constantly appearing in different locations and regularly erupting locally. During these periods, the database received data on various combinations of strains.
As countries began to close their borders, fewer new strains emerged and, in countries with more resistant G strains, they dominated.
Asia is dominated by the original L strain, after several countries, including China, quickly closed their borders and restricted movement. In North America and Europe, which did not restrict movement in this way, at least not initially, the G strains were able to spread and mutate much faster.
“This virus is transmitted to places and events with the potential for rapid spread, which means that the virus itself does not need to be superinfected,” said Catherine Bennett, director of the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Melbourne School of Health. “We will witness different patterns due to the expansion of the clusters.”
G strains currently dominate the world. The D614G mutation appears to be the most common. The latest mutation is the GV strain, currently isolated in Europe. According to experts, it is not clear if it is spreading for an advantage or because it affects young people and socially active tourists, especially in summer.
So far, the SARS-CoV-2 virus has slowly mutated, allowing scientists and politicians to react. However, scientists are divided on the issue of the effects of some of the mutations. Some experts report that the D614G mutation has made the virus more capable of spreading, but other studies suggest otherwise.
However, changes in the virus so far have not resulted in mutations that make it resistant to the vaccines that are being developed. Experts who have tracked mutations in influenza and HIV viruses while avoiding vaccines warn that it is not known how SARS-CoV-2 might mutate in the future. Therefore, the best way to avoid mutations that would make the virus resistant to vaccines is to limit its spread and reduce its ability to mutate.
“If the virus changes significantly, especially the proteins on its spines, then it could avoid the vaccine. We want to slow its global spread to prevent it,” Bennett said.
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