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NEW DELHI: The new strain of coronavirus first found in the UK has caused a global stir as it is believed to be more contagious than other variants of SARS-CoV-2.
Several nations, including India, have announced varying degrees of restrictions to prevent the spread of the mutated coronavirus, even as the world gradually begins to backtrack against the pandemic with early vaccination campaigns.
However, there is a good chance that the new variant of Covid-19 is not so harmful after all. How?
The new variant, known as B.1.1.7 or VUI-202012/01, is certainly not the first SARS-Cov-2 mutation, but it is certainly the first “under investigation.”
For the record, more than 12,000 mutations were detected in the virus’s first 50,000 genomes, and so far, scientists have recorded more than four times that number.
So far, there has been little evidence to suggest that the new strain of the virus results in a more severe form of Covid-19, although there is ample evidence to suggest that it is more transmissible or more contagious, and there is likely a blessing in disguise. .
According to Ian Jones, professor of virology at the University of Reading, UK, “The general rule of thumb in virology is that better transmission is associated with milder disease.”
This is not actually a new hypothesis, it is actually based on the “declining virulence law” proposed by the 19th century physician Theobald Smith.
According to Smith, there is a “delicate balance” between a pathogen and a host that allows the virus to develop into a less lethal strain.
Virologists say that if a virus mutates to become more lethal or lethal, it is likely to end up killing its host, even before it has a chance to infect others and spread.
Therefore, a mutation could be the response of the pathogen to become more transmissible to become as contagious as possible.
One example: the rapidly spreading but very lethal Ebola virus caused the death of the host and eventually disappeared as the opportunity to spread diminished.
Jones also cited the case of avian influenza, which in laboratory experiments showed that when the virus became more transmissible, it “did not kill any of the animals used,” indicating that the virus could be lethal or more infectious, but not both.
However, Jonathan Ball, a professor of virology at the University of Nottingham, advises caution against such thinking, which he calls “vague,” citing the examples of both the rabies virus and HIV.
In fact, in the case of HIV, which has killed more than 30 million people worldwide, mutations may also explain why a vaccine has proven elusive.
Ball’s argument is supported by Ravindra Gupta, a Cambridge University virologist, who notes that a pathogen can kill the host if it has already spread, which is “why HIV kills the host but still manages to spread so widely.” . ”
And while experts are divided on whether a mutation is more or less likely to be fatal, they agree on one thing: Don’t give the virus a chance to evolve and find a set of mutations that are advantageous.
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Several nations, including India, have announced varying degrees of restrictions to prevent the spread of the mutated coronavirus, even as the world gradually begins to backtrack against the pandemic with early vaccination campaigns.
However, there is a good chance that the new variant of Covid-19 is not so harmful after all. How?
The new variant, known as B.1.1.7 or VUI-202012/01, is certainly not the first SARS-Cov-2 mutation, but it is certainly the first “under investigation.”
For the record, more than 12,000 mutations were detected in the virus’s first 50,000 genomes, and so far, scientists have recorded more than four times that number.
So far, there has been little evidence to suggest that the new strain of the virus results in a more severe form of Covid-19, although there is ample evidence to suggest that it is more transmissible or more contagious, and there is likely a blessing in disguise. .
According to Ian Jones, professor of virology at the University of Reading, UK, “The general rule of thumb in virology is that better transmission is associated with milder disease.”
This is not actually a new hypothesis, it is actually based on the “declining virulence law” proposed by the 19th century physician Theobald Smith.
According to Smith, there is a “delicate balance” between a pathogen and a host that allows the virus to develop into a less lethal strain.
Virologists say that if a virus mutates to become more lethal or lethal, it is likely to end up killing its host, even before it has a chance to infect others and spread.
Therefore, a mutation could be the response of the pathogen to become more transmissible to become as contagious as possible.
One example: the rapidly spreading but very lethal Ebola virus caused the death of the host and eventually disappeared as the opportunity to spread diminished.
Jones also cited the case of avian influenza, which in laboratory experiments showed that when the virus became more transmissible, it “did not kill any of the animals used,” indicating that the virus could be lethal or more infectious, but not both.
However, Jonathan Ball, a professor of virology at the University of Nottingham, advises caution against such thinking, which he calls “vague,” citing the examples of both the rabies virus and HIV.
In fact, in the case of HIV, which has killed more than 30 million people worldwide, mutations may also explain why a vaccine has proven elusive.
Ball’s argument is supported by Ravindra Gupta, a Cambridge University virologist, who notes that a pathogen can kill the host if it has already spread, which is “why HIV kills the host but still manages to spread so widely.” . ”
And while experts are divided on whether a mutation is more or less likely to be fatal, they agree on one thing: Don’t give the virus a chance to evolve and find a set of mutations that are advantageous.
