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One in four infections in Campania is caused by English variant of the virus. Of a thousand molecular swabs carried out in the last two days in the laboratories of the Zooprophylactic Institute of Portici and Cotugno, in fact 300 cases in which the spike protein of the virus mutated. The swab was made using a particular molecular probe capable of immediately identifying the typical mutated protein S of the British variant of the Coronavirus. However, this is a first answer that must now be confirmed by decoding the entire viral genome. This last task is entrusted to the specialized laboratories of Tigem directed by Andrea Ballabio which will take about ten days. Considering that a certain amount of evidence could actually be attributed to other variants, it is estimated that around 25 percent of cases are attributable to the British coronavirus strain.
READ ALSO The English variant in Campania: one positive in four infected
It epidemiological surveillance study, carried out by the Instituto Zooprophylactic, Tigem and Cotugno, examines the territorial spread of the infection by sampling positive cases and has already verified that the percentage of incidence of the so-called English variant in Campania is attested in an interval ranging from 25 to 30 percent of the cases, in line with what is registered throughout the national territory. “This type of probe that is used when making a swab, explains Davide cacchiarelli that in Tigem deals with the decoding of the viral genome – it was discovered by accident. The trigger for the amplification of some typical virus genes does not work for protein S. If this happens, it is almost certain that we will find ourselves before the English variant to be confirmed with the complete sequencing of the entire viral genome ”.
The mutated protein S present in the English variant of the virus gives the microbe a infectious lead. Some of the 17 mutations it carries with respect to the original strain actually confer a higher affinity for the cellular receptor. “The protein S mutated in the English variant – explains Andrea Ballabio – acts as a more powerful magnet to hook human cells and allows the virus, in a period of time dependent on the circulation in the population, say in a few months, to supplant to the other species becoming the predominant strain as happened in England. This is the main reason to keep our guard very high – warns the regional crisis unit in a note – for which an even more intense work of control over the territories and on the direct contacts of the positives with this variant in the context. tracking of the Asl. The spread of these viral strains is constantly monitored and it is even more urgent to have the necessary vaccines to continue the ongoing vaccination campaign in an increasingly massive way ”. Since last Christmas, Tigem has started a constant task of decoding the viral genomes sent by the Zooprophylactic Institute, reading the RNA sequence of some 2,000 strains (of which 1,000 are deposited on the international platform Gisaid) in the practice a quarter of the genomes identified in Italy as part of the epidemiological surveillance carried out on the variants.
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