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A new variant of the coronavirus, associated with itself faster spread, has been identified in Great Britain. At the moment, there is nothing to suggest that it may cause more severe symptoms or that vaccines already in use lose their effectiveness, the UK Health Minister said. Matt hancock. Nearly a thousand infections caused by the new variant have been recorded by 60 different local health authorities in the south-east of England, an area that will be subject to much of the most stringent Level 3 restrictions as of Wednesday. And the numbers are growing rapidly. «From the latest clinical data, it appears that It is very unlikely that this mutation will not react to a vaccine. – Hancock said – but we must remain vigilant and follow the rules and everyone must take personal responsibility not to spread the virus.
Effect on therapies and vaccines
“We need to understand the meaning of the variant in terms of contagion, but also the effect on therapies and vaccines – he commented. Mike ryan, head of emergency operations at the World Health Organization (WHO) -. Many different variants of coronavirus have been reported, this one appears to be prevalent in Britain. Now the questions are: is it spread internationally? Does it make the virus more aggressive? Does it interfere with medications and vaccines? We currently have no information about it, but It is important to study the mutation to understand whether it is significant.“” To date there is no evidence that it behaves differently from others already known – added Maria Van Kerkhove of the WHO, in the usual briefing on the pandemic -. The situation is monitored by the Evolution Working Group Virus in the context of mutations discovered in mink in different parts of the world.
Variant “D”
In June, scientists at the Scripps Research Institute in Florida identified a variant, significant for the transmissibility of Sars-CoV-2, in a gene that codes for the protein spike (D614G gene). Researchers have shown that this mutation has the effect of significantly increasing the number of peaks (spike) “Functional” (that can penetrate cells) on the surface of the virus: the consequence is that each virus particle is almost 10 times more infectious, at least in the laboratory, compared to other strains. Genomic analyzes showed that this variant (called ‘D’) became dominant after the outbreak began in China and could explain why the coronavirus has spread so widely in Europe, the United States, and Latin America.
Adaptation to the host
All viruses develop mutations, changes in the individual letters of your genetic code that can be grouped into new variants and strains. They help track the history of a virus in time and space, but they are variants (at least for the coronavirus) that do not necessarily lead to detectable changes in transmissibility or pathogenicity. The goal of a “smart” virus is to adapt to the host in order to replicateTherefore, a change in transmissibility is advantageous, while increasing the lethality does not help the virus itself to spread, since when the host dies, the pathogen also disappears.
December 14, 2020 (change December 14, 2020 | 19:33)
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