A new coronavirus mutation has become the most dominant strain of the virus and is causing outbreaks to spread more quickly worldwide, an expert said.
Professor Nick Loman of the University of Birmingham, part of the COVID-19 Genomics Consortium, told BBC Radio 4’s “Today” program that the mutation, known as D614G, is forming groups more rapidly in the UK than the original Wuhan virus
“It exists in the spike protein, which is a very important way for the coronavirus to enter human cells, and we have noticed in the UK and around the world that this mutation has increased in frequency,” Loman said. “This mutation was first predicted by computer modeling to have some impact on the structure of that protein and the ability of the virus to bind and enter cells, and then, recently, it was shown in laboratory experiments that it increases the infectivity of cells. “
The scientists concluded after analyzing more than 40,000 genomes in the UK, according to Loman.
However, the new mutation is not believed to cause an increased risk of death or prolonged hospital stays, the Telegraph reported.
Loman called the mutation “the most dominant mutation, in about 75 percent of cases.”
“This increase in this mutation is a worldwide phenomenon,” he added. “The original Wuhan virus had type D, but type G has become much more dominant worldwide, including the UK.”
However, the strain is not expected to affect the process of finding a vaccine for COVID-19, he added.
He also tried to alleviate any concerns that the mutation could signal a new fatal phase for the coronavirus.
“We think it’s a small impact, and we’re not entirely sure about that, but we found out by testing what happened in the UK that viruses containing the type G mutation seemed to form clusters of cases faster, which ended up being larger than viruses with the D mutation, “said the professor. “We did not see any significant association with survival and length of hospital stay with this mutation; We do not believe that this mutation is important to change virulence. The effect seems to be on the transmissibility. “
Dr. Heidi J. Zapata, an infectious disease immunologist and specialist at Yale Medicine, also said there is not enough conclusive evidence to suggest that the virus is becoming more infectious or deadly.
“Currently, we do not have sufficient evidence to reach any conclusion about the virus becoming more malicious or benign,” Zapata told CNET. “We simply know that certain variants have become more prominent, such as the D614G strain. However, currently, our evidence for D614G shows that it is not causing different human clinical outcomes. “
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