The Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology has stated that the mutated variant of SARS-CoV-2 is widespread in Indonesia. The new strain of the virus is thought to be more infectious and milder than the original strain discovered in Wuhan, China, last December. 2019, reported the Jakarta Post.
Amin Soebandrio, president of the Eijkman Institute, told the Jakarta Post that the new mutation is like the D614G mutation and has been discovered in 8 of the 22 total genome sequences reported in Indonesia.
The strain was first discovered in July. According to the study published in the journal Cell, the D614G variant of Covid-19 may temporarily take over as the dominant strain soon, and geographic samples will appear as a significant replacement in the viral population of the original strain. to the new strain of the virus.
The researchers added that they still needed the percentage of other people carrying the mutated strain of the virus; however, they suspected that the sudden increase in the number of cases in Indonesia could simply be due to the new strain.
“Currently, D614G accounts for approximately 40% of the genomes reported in Indonesia, however, if we analyze more samples, we may get clearer information,” Amin said.
Researchers have raised concerns about the infectious nature of the new strain, and they are concerned that it is 10 times more transferable from a mobile to the original strain that has caused an epidemic around the world.
“More studies are needed to determine if this also happens in humans,” Amin added.
However, he argued that the mutation would not be the effectiveness of possible coronavirus vaccines because the new strain also uses a similar receptor binding approach to multiply in the host body.
“We will continue to perform the entire genome sequencing procedure to perceive the characteristics of the mutation. These sequences are epidemiological knowledge to hint at the mobility of the virus,” Amin said.
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