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A new mutation. Neither the first nor the only from the Covid-19 has more than 12 thousand under its belt, although, compared to other coronaviruses, it is considered a slow mutant: only two letters of the genome are changed per month, a rate that is about half that of the flu.
Isolated in September in England, prompted the British government to suddenly declare a strict lockdown over the Christmas period and until at least December 30. According to the scientific staff of Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, he has one Unpleasant feature: transmissibility increases by 70 percent.
And panic broke out. A good part of the European countries, Italy compressed, have flights blocked. me France stopped hundreds of trucks for 48 hours who were transporting goods trying to escape Brexit, at the risk of creating shortages just before the holidays. But It’s too late.
Perhaps created in the southeast of the island, the variant has already escaped, reaching Holland, Denmark and even Australia. It is also present in Italy: for now it has been isolated in one person, perhaps two, who have just returned from London.
“However, it does not appear to cause a greater severity of the disease., because if so it would have already been noticed. 69 percent of cases already have this modification and ICUs and deaths have not increased dramaticallyFabrizio says I pray, virologist of the Department of Biomedical Sciences of the University of Milan and Director of Health of the Galeazzi Orthopedic Institute of Milan. “On the other hand, RNA viruses, such as Covid-19, are small and less complex, they make many mistakes, they change constantly and this is due to chance. Only then does necessity make the most successful forms prevail, particularly those that are most widely disseminated. However, it must be said that the more it spreads, the more chance it has to change”.
With most of the world still susceptible, it is difficult, however, for the B.1.1.7, this is the code that identifies him, he is trying to fight our immunity. It’s easier to still be at the stage where you’re trying to hit as many victims as possible.
“Measles and polio are more stable and older, and have found a balance over time. Sometimes they do serious harm, they are dangerous, but in essence they live with us”, Pregliasco concludes
Until now it was always considered that the mutations present in Covid-19 would not have great consequences, because they did not drastically alter the shape of the proteins. Those who do put it into difficulties, so that over time they disappear while those that lead to success prevail.
Although here we are faced with something exceptional:
“Not a single element change, but 17 mutations that create a family of viruses. Is something that is completely new, a new evolutionary branch. In reality, it contains differences that were known individually even before. One of these is present, for example, in that of Danish visoniwhich led to the slaughter of millions of animals“He explains Enrico Bucci, an adjunct professor of systems biology at Temple University, Philadelphia (USA), who studies the new genetic sequences.
The problem is that now they all come together.
It could be a sudden start or a long process. We can assume that it is already present in other parts of the world, but the laboratories that study genetic sequences are not widespread everywhere. Most of the research in this area is done in England. Therefore, it is no coincidence that it has been noticed in this country, where after noticing that the cases were increasing despite the restrictions, the possibility that it was neglected was ruled out and it was found that everything depended on a greater aggressiveness of the virus.
The latest Covid-19 is not the first to demonstrate increased transmissibility. In September a Nature study looked at the type identified with the initials D614G, as the one that had now spread around the world. It has a more fluid spike protein that perhaps made it more infectious.
Unfortunately, this phenomenon occurred just as the vaccine campaign began. And many experts said they were concerned. In fact, they may no longer be effective because there are also changes in the spike protein, the main target of the vaccine.
“There is a danger that people no longer trust the vaccine. And the dissemination of this news at this time can generate uncertainties. A Spanish variant, last summer, had also created concern, and even then it was broadcast more, but it had not had the same prominence. However, there is no need to worry“, need Marco Bassetti, specialist in infectious diseases at the Hospital Policlinico San Martino in Genoa.
“Exist many reasons to believe that vaccines are still valid. First of all Astra Zeneca tested when the new version was already on the road. If they hadn’t worked, it would have been noticed. Furthermore, vaccines allow the development of antibodies that affect the entire virus and not just the spike protein, which already has more than 4,000 mutations. “ dice Bucci.
One can ask how can the future be, when a large majority of the population will be immune, either because they got sick or because they were vaccinated. At that point, the pandemic will face a new challenge. You could decide to live with us. Become an influenceor continue as before.
“ME’ hard to fade. This happens if the population to be infected decreases rapidly. But we are seven billion, so many, and also the virus is now also circulating in animals “, points out Bucci.
It can also happen that you try to escape any attempt to stop it if you keep changing.
Although there are Good news:
“the RNA technology that has been used is very flexible and allows the necessary changes to adapt and combat the new forms”Bucci reveals.
Therefore, the vaccines will not always be the same. They are already changing and will continue to do so until the virus is forced to stop. But the best strategy always remains the same: avoid circulating as much as possible, until I can no longer reach anyone.
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