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Like the “English variant”, that too South African seems to be more contagious. Very extendedeven in young people, but probably no longer dangerous and virulent. The “501.V2” version of SARS-CoV-2, identified in early October “began to dominate very quickly i samples that we are sequencing ”, reports the virologist Tulio de Oliveira, head of the South African laboratory Kwazulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (Krisp). In mid-November, “501.V2” represented 90% of the genomes sequenced by South African scientists. An unprecedented proportion. To tell the truth after the appearance of SARS-CoV-2 Many versions of the virus have emerged. “It is not the first mutant strain of the virus in circulation and it will not be the last. It is in the nature of the virus: the more it circulates, the more it replicates and the more it changes, ”he explains. Giuseppe Novelli, geneticist at the Tor Vergata University in Rome. Like all organisms, viruses evolve to survive. “In general, they tend to become more contagious but less serious, less pathogenic and less fatal over time, ”he explains Salim Abdool Karim, South African epidemiologist. In South AfricaInstead, “doctors in the field told us they see more seriously ill young people. We are trying to understand if this phenomenon is linked to the new variant of the virus or simply to the fact that there are now more young people infected ”, he continues. Richard Lessells from the laboratory Krisp. The second South African wave, which is spreading faster in some provinces than the first, is led by young people between 15 and 19 years old.
However, as with the English variant, there are very few certainties. “Although the full meaning of the mutations found is not yet clear, I data genomici ed epidemiological suggest a increase the transmissibility associated with the virus, ”Novelli says. “But be careful: we are talking about data from studies that are still being carried out in computer. We need data from laboratory – continues the geneticist – and say experimentation to evaluate them antigenic capacity (that is, to be recognized or not by our antibodies) and understand the impact phenotypic (that is, the virulence and the pathogenicity, that is, if it affects the severity of the disease) of these mutations SARS-CoV-2”.
On December 4, highlighting the importance assumed by the variant “501.V2” in the samples sequenced in South Africa, Tulio de Oliveira alerted theWorld Health Organization (WHO). “He warned them of this discovery before we could understand its significance,” he adds. Lessells. Then the specialists in the UK analyzed their data to see if even at the your Majesty there was a similar variant. This is how they discovered the presence of the “English variant”. “The mutations identified in South Africa it’s in the UK They are not the same, but these two versions have one of them in common mutations that we consider important, “he says Lessells.
Therefore, what prompted South African researchers to raise the alarm was not only the frequency with which they found the new variant in their studies, but also the nature of the mutation observed. In the South African variant, three elements of one have evolved. protein key viral, protein spike, and one of these mutations, the most significant, is also found in the variant britannica. If these mutations cause concern, it is because they influence the protein that allows the virus to enter the human body. It is also in this protein that vaccinations. “This mutation is worrisome because it affects an element used by antibodies to neutralize the virus, but it should be noted that I vaccinations developed they produce a broad spectrum immune response ”, he explains. Lessells. “We believe that it is unlikely that one simple mutation They question the response to the vaccine, but we won’t know until the tests have been done in the laboratory, ”he adds. Meanwhile, Abdool Karim reassures: “We have every reason to be concerned about a virus that seems to spread rapidly, but we can control it. Despite the mutations, the new variant is detected by existing tests, the way to protect itself remains the same as the already known variants and the treatments remain similar for the time being ”.
However, the appearance of the variants in South Africa and in Europe suggests “the urgent need to refocus – Novelli says – adequate public health responses to halt transmission and reduce hospitalizations; increases the surveillance genomics and the follow-up of reinfections and therefore global coordination and cooperation ”. It is not excluded that the variant South African have or are circulating in Italy. “We cannot exclude that the variants EnglishAfrican Spanish and all the others that we have not even classified have also circulated in our country ”, he says. Matteo Bassetti, director of the Infectious Diseases Clinic of the San Martino Hospital (GE). “This should not wake up concern– but to highlight the importance of investing in genomic analysis laboratories in our country, because in Italy sequencing is not performed in all laboratories ”, he adds. The infectious disease specialistFinally, it highlights that this situation should represent a stimulus to maintain a high level of supervision, given the contagion of the mutations. “We must continue to adopt precautionary measures – concludes Bassetti – practicing proper hand hygiene, using the mask properly and maintaining social distancing, but the presence of mutations they should not generate alarmism, because it is an inevitable factor that unites all pathogens ”.
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