Explainer: Is it a new ‘strain’, ‘variant’ or ‘mutation’ of COVID-19?

An array of UK newspapers photographed as an illustration in Liverpool on December 20, 2020, shows front page headlines reporting on the story of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson introducing new tougher restrictions for the COVID-19 coronavirus for London and southeastern England. cancel Christmas gatherings for those in the new ‘level 4’ category. – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday announced a “stay at home” order for London and south-east England to curb a new strain of coronavirus that is significantly more infectious. He ordered new restrictions for London and south-east England from Sunday, saying “residents of those areas must stay home” until at least December 30. The measures will mean that around a third of England’s population cannot travel or meet other households at Christmas. . (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines – Following news of COVID-19 vaccine procurement and ongoing inoculation in some countries, the United Kingdom (UK) surprised nations when it announced it had cases of B.1.1.7, a new one ” variant “of SARS. -Cov-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

What is “B.1.1.7”?

According to an article posted on the UK government website, on December 14, Public Health England (PHE) identified a “new variant” of SARS-CoV-2 in southern and eastern England. It was named “VUI-202012/01”, also known as B.1.1.7, which means the first variant under investigation in December 2020.

As of December 13, the PHE said that 1,108 cases of the new variant had been detected.

A week after the announcement, UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock declared that the “new strain” has gone “out of control”.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also imposed stricter restrictions on the country after scientists, according to him, found that the new strain “may be up to 70 percent more transmissible than the old strain.”

Despite clarifications from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States (USA) that there is still no strong evidence to show that the UK variant may be more contagious, many countries have decided to do comply with travel bans and restrictions.

This is after several cases of the UK-based COVID-19 variant have been confirmed in different countries around the world.

So far, little is known about this COVID-19 update. However, in terms of labeling and identification, many have debated whether it should be called a strain, variant, or mutation.

“Currently, the variant is known as” SARS-CoV-2 VOC 202012/01 “(ie the first variant of concern from December 2020), or” B.1.1.7. ”Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on its website.

“The press often uses the terms ‘variant’, ‘strain’, ‘lineage’ and ‘mutant’ interchangeably. At the moment, in the context of this variant, the first three of these terms are also generally used interchangeably by the scientific community, “added the CDC.

What is the difference between strain, variant, and mutation?

“A strain of a virus has different properties and a particular immune response. Then there will be a lot of variants that will be, in many cases, small accumulations of mutations and different types of genetic lines of that strain, ”said Jean-Paul Soucy, Ph.D. A student at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, she said in an interview with Canadian television station CTV News.

“[A]All currently known variants of COVID-19 belong to the SARS-CoV-2 strain and have not mutated enough to be classified as their own strain or to be ineffective against current and future COVID-19 vaccines, “Soucy clarified.

Meanwhile, health reform advocate Dr. Tony Leachon explained that the term variant is used “to classify a known virus that has developed a ‘specific group of mutations’ that causes the variant to behave differently. to that of the strain from which it originated “.

On the other hand, a virus is tagged or called a mutation once there is a change in the “nucleotide sequence of RNA (a nucleic acid that serves as a messenger that carries genetic information) of the virus.”

Mutations alter the biology of SARS-CoV-2. An example of a mutation is found in B.1.1.7, where one amino acid in the virus “spike” protein was replaced by a different type of amino acid.

“This variant has a mutation in the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein at position 501, where the amino acid asparagine (N) has been replaced by tyrosine (Y). The abbreviation for this mutation is N501Y, sometimes referred to as S: N501Y to specify that it is found in the spike protein, “explained the CDC.

Is VUI-202012/01 or B.1.1.7 a strain, variant, or mutation?

According to Leachon, the UK-based VUI-202012/01 or B.1.1.7 is a variant and not a strain or mutation.

“A strain of the virus is considered a variant when it has enough mutations to change a small part of its genetic code. The most recent variant found in the UK meets that benchmark, “said Leachon.

“This variant, known as B.1.1.7, spreads much more easily between people as a result of a series of mutations that have been identified in the genetic coding,” he added.

The term strain, in this case, can only be used for SARS-CoV-2 because it is derived from coronaviruses, a large family of viruses that includes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). ).

/ MUF

The Inquirer Foundation supports our leaders in healthcare and still accepts cash donations to be deposited into the Banco de Oro (BDO) checking account # 007960018860 or donate through PayMaya using this link .

Read next

Don’t miss out on the latest news and information.