Amid the raging global coronavirus outbreak, a new strain of the virus has been found in the UK, sending experts seeking a new detailed analysis. And a revelation that could raise eyebrows even higher, said Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at the World Health Organization. NDTV that the new strain of Covid-19 may already be present in many countries.
He added that no conclusion about the new strain can be drawn at such an early stage.
He reported that the UK is doing a great deal of whole genome sequencing and can therefore track it very closely in real time. She suspects that as more countries look at their data, they could find the presence of this variant.
Read: No need for a big alarm, says WHO about new strain of coronavirus
Experts have considered this new virus to be at least 70% more infectious than other strains of the virus. Most of the new positive cases that have emerged in the UK, especially London, have been due to the new strain. Since the coronavirus was detected in China, alterations in its structure have been seen, but the UK variant has undergone an abnormally large number of mutations. Also, this is the only variant that has seen infections grow at a rapid rate.
This new and more contagious virus is believed to be rapidly replacing other versions, allowing the virus to multiply.
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The new variant is currently highly concentrated in the UK, except Northern Island. There have been nine cases of the new strain in Turkey. Cases are also found in the Netherlands, Denmark, Australia, Italy, and South Africa.
Swaminathan explained that other viruses had mutated in the past that eventually became the dominant variant, adding that it is unlikely that a couple of mutations in the spike protein could change the immune system’s response to the vaccine.
Read more: UK strain of coronavirus could more easily infect children
He also said that experiments are underway to better understand the new UK strain, but that it will take a couple of weeks to get results.
The scientist advised that countries should do more sequencing. “India has a tremendous capacity for whole genome sequencing (one of the keys to developing an effective vaccine). In fact, India is already contributing quite a bit to a global database that has close to 300,000 sequences,” he said.
He warned that it is important for all countries to implement testing, contact tracing, and isolation of positive cases to control the virus and reduce transmission.
WHO officials have shed a positive light on the discovery of the new strains that prompted a slew of countries to impose travel restrictions on Britain and South Africa, saying the new tools to track the virus were working.
“We have to find a balance. It is very important to have transparency, it is very important to tell the public how things are, but it is also important to convey that this is a normal part of the evolution of the virus,” said the WHO chief of emergencies. , Mike Ryan. said an online briefing.
Also read: The Covid-19 vaccine will be equally effective against the new mutant of the coronavirus, says CSIR DG
Officials said coronavirus mutations had so far been much slower than with influenza and that even the new UK variant was still much less communicable than other diseases like mumps.
They said that vaccines developed to combat Covid-19 should also handle the new variants, although controls are underway to ensure this.
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