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The coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, China more than four months ago has since mutated and the new dominant strain spreading throughout the US. USA It appears to be even more contagious, according to a new study.
The new strain began spreading in Europe in early February before migrating to other parts of the world, including the United States and Canada, becoming the dominant form of the virus worldwide in late March, researchers from the National Laboratory of Poplars. in a 33-page report published Thursday on BioRxiv.
If the coronavirus doesn’t decrease in the summer like seasonal flu, it could further mutate and potentially limit the effectiveness of coronavirus vaccines that scientists around the world are developing, the researchers cautioned. Some vaccine researchers have been using the virus’s genetic sequences isolated by health authorities at the start of the outbreak.
“This is tough news,” said Bette Korber, a computer biologist in Los Alamos and lead author of the study, the Los Angeles Times said she wrote on her Facebook page.
“But please, don’t just be discouraged by that,” he continued. “Our team at LANL was able to document this mutation and its impact on transmission only because of a massive global effort by clinical people and experimental groups, making new virus sequences (SARS-CoV-2) available in their local communities as well as fast as possible. “
The study has not yet been peer-reviewed, but the researchers noted that the news of the mutation was “urgent concern” considering the more than 100 vaccines in the pipeline to prevent Covid-19.
In early March, researchers in China said they found that two different types of coronaviruses could be causing infections worldwide.
In a study published on March 3, scientists from the Peking University Faculty of Life Sciences and the Shanghai Pasteur Institute found that a more aggressive type of the new coronavirus accounted for approximately 70% of the strains tested, while that 30% had been related to a less aggressive type. The most aggressive and deadly strain was found to prevail in the early stages of the outbreak in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the virus first emerged.
Los Alamos researchers, with the help of scientists from Duke University and the University of Sheffield in England, were able to analyze thousands of coronavirus sequences compiled by the Global Initiative to Share All Influenza, an organization that promotes the rapid exchange of details of all influenza viruses and coronaviruses.
To date, researchers have identified 14 mutations.
The mutation affects the spike protein, a multifunctional mechanism that allows the virus to enter the host.
The research was supported by funds from the Medical Research Council, the National Institute for Health Research and Genome Research Limited.
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