[ad_1]
Before the world can stop the devastating spread of COVID-19, scientists have already begun to wonder if and when another member of this family of viruses will have to deal with it in the future. Insights from professionals should obviously be treated as caveats, writes sciencealert.com.
Attempts have been made to identify which mammals could become hosts to multiple coronavirus strains, allowing pathogens to bind and mix with the next generation of COVID agents through the application of machine learning technologies.
The figures obtained suggest a group of potential coronavirus hosts almost a dozen times larger than what the results based on observation suggest.
Of particular concern is the potential for SARS-CoV-2 hosts, which could allow the virus to progress to a much more dangerous derivative, 30 times more than previously thought, and the number of species that have previously allowed the virus to passage of various subspecies of coronavirus up to 40 times.
A study by researchers at the University of Liverpool in the UK does not show where and when a future pandemic will start. However, there is no doubt that specific models of the current coronavirus ecosystem need to be thoroughly investigated.
It is understandable that the name of this fierce family of viruses is currently associated with the massive quarantines announced in 2020 and the huge death toll. However, many tribesmen are relatively mild – the infection they cause can resemble a simple runny nose.
In any case, the family of cronaviruses already consists of four genera, commonly called alpha, beta, gamma and delta, whose representatives are distributed between birds and mammals at various levels.
Only the alpha and beta coronavirus strains are dangerous to humans, and it is the beta genus that causes the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) strain.
Of course, we would like everything in biology to fall into strict categories. Unfortunately, nature is sometimes not characterized by stability.
For example, viral genes change regularly and the genome is transcoded. As viruses spread, they dominate new mechanisms of entry into cells, gain resistance to the immune response or even the ability to infect other species, thus initiating the appearance of new species and strains.
The situation is complicated by the fact that members of different groups can intervene in the same host tissues and, by exchanging traits that are advantageous to them, form more malignant combinations that allow dissemination at a completely different level.
Understanding how these exchanges work is not an easy task. After all, even today, scientists cannot explain in detail the exact origin of SARS-CoV-2, although there is little doubt that it has spread from bats.
Many species of bats have fairly resilient immune systems, so they can carry a wide variety of viruses for a long time, giving them time to swap genes.
It happens that it is just a coincidence that a virus needs to enter the human body, either directly or through intermediate hosts, such as patches of meat.
The recombination process determines whether such a coincidence will be an isolated disaster or turn into a tragedy on a grand scale, and to understand this, it is necessary to study viruses, their diversity, their potential hosts, and the circumstances of new victims. .
Virologists can provide a number of answers, but they are well aware of how difficult it is to see the tip of an epidemiological iceberg when it comes to viruses that travel silently from one species to another, especially in the wild.
In the previous study, specially designed computer algorithms sought to elucidate future trends from three different but complementary perspectives: characteristics of the viral genome, characteristics of the potential host (hundreds of mammals), and specific characteristics of the virus and the host network.
The results obtained revealed a fairly wide potential of the coronavirus family, and although SARS-CoV-2 is still circulating, it is clear that new combinations may form that will not yield to any control.
Based on observations alone, it was thought that only four (non-human) mammals could become hosts for both SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses.
However, the results of the new study suggest that up to 126 animals can become hosts for SARS-CoV-2, and there are up to 2,544 interactions that would allow SARS-CoV-2 to return with new energy.
“Any of those SARS-CoV-2 hosts (as well as other coronaviruses) is becoming a potential medium for the recombination process in which SARS-CoV-2 can become a new coronavirus,” the researchers explain.
The data to date is certainly not enough to provide an accurate prediction of the emergence of a new form of COVID, but no matter how reasonable such a prediction may be, the outbreak of another SARS virus should not be the only thing to bet on.
It is strictly prohibited to use the information published by DELFI on other websites, in the media or elsewhere, or to distribute our material in any way without consent, and if consent has been obtained, it is necessary to indicate DELFI as the source. .
[ad_2]
