SINGAPORE, Aug 18 (Reuters) – A mutation of the new coronavirus that is spreading more and more frequently across Europe and has recently been discovered in Malaysia may be more infected but appears less deadly, according to a prominent doctor of infectious diseases.
Paul Tambyah, senior consultant at the National University of Singapore and president-elect of the US-based International Society of Infectious Diseases, said the D614G mutation has also been found in Singapore.
The city state health ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tambyah said there is evidence that the proliferation of the mutation in Europe coincides with a drop in death rates, suggesting it is less deadly.
The mutation is unlikely to affect the effectiveness of a potential vaccine, despite warnings to the contrary from other health experts, he added.
“Maybe it’s okay to have a virus that is more infectious but less deadly,” Tambyah told Reuters.
Tambyah said most viruses become less virulent when they mutate.
“It is in the interest of the virus to infect more people, but not to kill them, because a virus depends on the host for food and shelter,” he said.
Scientists discovered the mutation as early as February and it has been circulating in Europe and the Americas, the World Health Organization said. The WHO also said there was no evidence that the mutation had led to more serious illness.
On Sunday, Malaysia’s director general of health Noor Hisham Abdullah called for greater public vigilance after authorities discovered what they believe was the coronavirus’ D614G mutation in two recent clusters.
Noor Hisham said the newly discovered strain was 10 times more infected and that vaccines currently in development may not be effective against this mutation.
But Tambyah said such mutations are unlikely to change the virus enough to make potential vaccines less effective.
“The mutant affects the binding of the spike protein and not necessarily the recognition of the protein by the immune system, which would be primed by a vaccine,” he said. (Report by John Geddie and Chen Lin Edited by Lincoln Feast.)
