UGM finds most contagious mutations of the coronavirus: free access

YOGYAKARTA, KOMPAS – The Gadjah Mada University (UGM) research team found a new corona virus or SARS-CoV-2 that has mutated in the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY) and Central Java. The mutated virus is said to have a 10 times higher transmission rate, which has the potential to increase the transmission of Covid-19 disease. Therefore, people are asked to be more disciplined in the implementation of health protocols.

“Of the four samples from Yogyakarta and Central Java that we examined, three of them contained the D614G mutation,” said the chairman of the Genetic Working Group (Pokja) of the School of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing (FKKMK) UGM, Gunadi, Tuesday (9/1/2020), in Yogyakarta.

The fact that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was detected with the D614G mutation should have made all parties more disciplined in implementing health protocols, such as washing hands, wearing masks, avoiding crowds, etc. (Gunadi)

Gunadi explained that the mutation in the SARS-CoV-2 virus was identified after the team did. whole genome sequencing (WGS) or the complete genome sequencing of the virus that causes Covid-19 disease. In that study, the UGM FKKMK Working Group performed WGS on four virus samples. Three samples come from DIY and one sample from Central Java.

According to Gunadi, of the three DIY samples, two of them contained a certain mutation called the D614G mutation. A sample from Central Java was also found to contain the D614G mutation. Thus, a total of three samples contained the D614G mutation.

Also read: SARS-CoV-2 mutations are likely to be more contagious

Gunadi said that according to the research, the SARS-CoV-2 virus containing the D614G mutation has a 10 times higher infectious power than viruses that do not have mutations. Therefore, the public must be more careful and disciplined in the implementation of health protocols so as not to contract the Covid-19 disease.

More discipline

“The fact that the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been detected with a D614G mutation should make all parties more disciplined in implementing health protocols, such as washing hands, wearing masks, avoiding crowds, etc.” said Gunadi, who is also a lecturer at FKKMK UGM.

He added that, after taking the test, the UGM FKKMK Working Group sent the test results to an institution called the GISAID Initiative. The institute provides a genome database of the influenza virus and the SARS-CoV-2 virus from various countries around the world. The delivery was made so that the results of the examinations carried out by the UGM FKKMK Working Group could be known by researchers from other countries.

Also read: The Corona virus mutates to be more contagious

Gunadi said that the results of the DIY sample examination were submitted to the GISAID website on August 24, 2020. The results of the Central Java sample examination were submitted on Monday (August 31, 2020). “GISAID provides a global database for influenza viruses. The data on the SARS-CoV-2 virus is also published there and the data becomes public property so that it can be useful information to the world,” he said.

To date, Gunadi said, 92,090 isolates of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have been reported in the world. Of these, 77.5 percent contained the D614G mutation. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, 24 isolates of the SARS-CoV-2 virus were reported and up to nine of them contained the D614G mutation.

Gunadi said the nine isolates in Indonesia that contained the D614G mutation consisted of two isolates from East Java, two from West Java, two from DIY, one from Jakarta, one from Banten and one from Central Java. “So of the nine that contain the D614G mutation, a third came from Yogyakarta and Central Java,” he said.

According to Gunadi, the results of the research on the mutation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have benefits in several fields. In the field of epidemiology, this research is useful, among other things, in determining the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 virus mutations and the severity of Covid-19 patients. On the other hand, this research is also useful for making vaccines or providing therapy for Covid-19 patients.

“For the public, this research shows that the SARS-CoV-2 virus really exists, not a conspiracy,” said Gunadi, who is a pediatric surgeon and molecular geneticist.

Continues to grow

Meanwhile, the number of DIY Covid-19 cases continues to rise. This Tuesday, for example, DIY received 20 additional new positive cases. Therefore, the total number of Covid-19 cases in the province is 1,445 cases.

“The results of laboratory tests and the positives confirmed today, September 1, 2020, have 20 additional positive cases, so the total of positive cases for Covid 19 in DIY is 1,445 cases,” said the government spokesman Regional DIY for the Management of Covid-19 Berty Murtiningsih.

Berty explained that of the 20 new positive patients, eight of them came from Bantul Regency, four from Kulon Progo Regency and another eight from Sleman Regency. One of the new positive patients is a 12-year-old girl from Sleman.

Also Read: Food Stalls Become New Broadcast Groups In Yogyakarta City

The spokeswoman for the Covid-19 Task Force at Sleman Regency, Shavitri Nurmala Dewi, said the girl was about to leave town to attend lessons at a boarding school on the outskirts of Yogyakarta. However, before leaving, she was asked to undergo. swab or a swab test. “After swab, turned out to be positive. So it’s not gone yet, ”he said.

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