An increasingly common mutation of the new coronavirus found in Europe, North America and parts of Asia may be more infectious, but appears to be less deadly, according to a leading infectious disease specialist.
Paul Tambyah, a former consultant at the National University of Singapore and president-elect of the International Society of Infectious Diseases, said that evidence suggests that the proliferation of the D614G mutation in some parts of the world coincides with a drip in the death rates, suggesting it is less lethal.
“Maybe it’s okay to have a virus that is more contagious but less deadly,” Tambyah was quoted as saying by a Reuters report published on Tuesday.
Tambyah said most viruses become less virulent when they mutate.
“It is in the interest of the virus to infect more people, but not to kill them, because a virus depends on the host for food and shelter,” he said.
Scientists have been discovering the mutation since February, and it has been circulating in Europe and America with no evidence that it has led to more serious disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
On Sunday, Malaysia’s director general of health, Noor Hisham Abdullah, called for greater public vigilance after authorities discovered what they believe was the coronavirus’ D614G mutation in two recent clusters.
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Sebastian Maurer-Stroh of the Science, Technology and Research Agency in Singapore said the variant was also found in the city-state, but inclusion measures had prevented widespread use.
Malaysia’s Noor Hisham said the D614G strain discovered that it had been infected 10 times and that vaccines currently in development may not be effective against it.
But Tambyah and Maurer-Stroh said such mutations are unlikely to alter the virus to make potential vaccines less effective.
“(The) variants are almost identical and did not change areas that typically recognize our immune system, so there should be no difference for vaccines being developed,” said Maurer-Stroh.
The Philippines has also discovered the strain among random samples of coronavirus in Metro Manila, according to news reports.
The mutation “is said to have a higher chance of transmission than infection, but we do not yet have enough solid evidence to say that that will happen,” Philippine Health Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said on Monday.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
.
