If you purchase through a BGR link, we may earn an associate commission, supporting our specialty product labs.
Like any other pathogen, the novel coronavirus is evolving in reaction to the hosts it infects. This is a mutation that allowed the virus to jump from one species to another and eventually triumph in humans. At least, that’s what researchers think about the original strain that fired up early people. The upcoming WHO survey in China may provide more answers about the early days of the Wuhan outbreak.
SARS-CoV-2 continued to mutate thereafter, and scientists closely followed those genetic changes. This is very important because mutations can make a virus more infectious or harmful and obstruct studies of drugs and vaccines. Several notable new strains of coronavirus have been discovered. until now. The D614G mutation is believed to be to blame for the current state of the pandemic. This mutation does not make the virus more harmful, but it has become more contagious. The D614G came out of China and set most of the world on fire, only to leave. He returned to Asia a few months later. Since then, other strains have been discovered, adding some new versions of the coronavirus that are spreading in the United Kingdom and South Africa. It now appears that the latter is the more damaging of the two.
The group five mutation in the Danish mink sparked a brief worldwide frenzy a few weeks ago. The local government has warned that the mutation may also evade neutralizing antibodies capable of blocking the virus’s spike protein. These proteins are formed when a user beats the virus after an infection or through a vaccine. However, concerns about the mink mutation have eased since the first alerts, and it appears that existing vaccines could still continue to resist this new strain.
A few days ago, the British fitness government announced that another new mutation of the coronavirus was spreading in the south of the country. The strain had 17 distinct genetic modifications, most of which affected the spike protein. One of them is called N501Y, which affects the receptor binding motif of the spike protein, according to the U. K. ‘s COVID-19 Genomics Consortium. The mutation does not appear to cause more severe disease, according to public health officials.
Now, a few days later, the South African government has reported another mutation of SARS-CoV-2 that appears to be causing the second wave in the country. South Africa is approaching one million infections and more than 24,000 people are dying from the disease. Headaches from COVID-19. La second wave began in mid-November, with the country recording more than 10,000 cases in a single day a few days ago. It appears to be the local peak of the second wave, but the number of cases may simply continue to rise.
South Africa’s Minister of Health, Zweli Mkhize, announced the 501. V2 mutation of the virus, reports The East African. Unlike the UK strain, this one can cause more severe illness. The official said on Twitter that local doctors had uncovered anecdotal evidence of the patients’ presentation at the clinic. They said a higher proportion of younger people develop serious illnesses without suffering from other comorbidities.
“So the accumulating evidence strongly suggests that the second wave we are experiencing is being driven by this new variant,” Mkhize said at a virtual news conference on Friday.
The second wave also seems to be spreading faster than the previous one, according to local officials. The Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa (NGS-SA) discovered the mutation in several provinces, noting between 10-20 mutations that were not seen in other strains since September. It’s unclear whether the new version came from.
Healthcare workers “remain confident” that existing vaccines will work against the new strain, says The East African.
BGR’s audience craves our industry-leading insights on the latest in tech and entertainment, as well as our authoritative and expansive reviews.
We advise our unwavering readers on some of the most productive products, the latest trends, and the most interesting stories with non-stop coverage, available on all major news platforms.
Founded in 2006
More than 2 billion visitors
More than 100,000 articles published
Millions of readers helped