[ad_1]
The coronavirus may have mutated and could be more contagious and able to circumvent barriers such as masks and hand washing, according to a study.
Experts have warned that a new dominant strain of Covid-19 could be adapted to circumvent barriers such as masks and hand washing.
Since March, experts based in Houston, USA, have been sequencing the coronavirus genomes and recorded 5,085 sequences, the Washington Post reports.
At the beginning of the pandemic, people were advised to reduce their chances of contracting and spreading the virus by following the rules of social distancing, washing their hands regularly and wearing face masks.
But David Morens says the virus could start to find its way around these preventative measures because of the mutation.
(Image: Julian Hamilton / Daily Mirror)
The virologist, who works at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said the virus has become more transmissible, which may have implications for how we can control it.
He added: “Although we don’t know yet, it is within the realm of the possibility that this coronavirus, when our population-level immunity is high enough, this coronavirus will find a way around our immunity.
“If that happened, we would be in the same situation as with the flu. We will have to chase the virus and, as it mutates, we will have to play with our vaccine. “
The study also found that one of the D614G mutations is the most dominant in the US and is behind 99.9 percent of cases in the Houston area of Texas.
(Image: Getty Images / iStockphoto)
He reports that the mutation changes the structure of the “spike protein” and could aid the spread of that strain.
These spikes also allow the virus to adhere to infected cells.
This increases the ability of the mutated virus to infect cells.
The study has not yet been peer-reviewed, which means that other virologists haven’t looked closely at the findings.
(Image: PA)
Experts from the University of Chicago and the University of Texas Austin said that the D614G strain is now above the rest.
Their research showed that people with the infected strain had higher viral loads in their respiratory tract, allowing the virus to spread more effectively.
But even though the strain is more dominant, experts said that doesn’t mean it’s more deadly.
They also added that the severity of each case depended on whether the patient had underlying health problems.
Peter Thielen, a molecular biologist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, said scientists will need to continue studying the virus to see if the new mutations identified by the researchers will change the “fitness” of the virus.
The United States has been the most affected country in the world with 7,172,059 coronavirus cases and 207,259 deaths to date.
Experts say that the virus has been given more opportunity to mutate in a shorter period of time.
[ad_2]
