While the coronavirus apocalypse is slowly but inevitably becoming routine, the SARS-CoV-2 virus itself continues to evolve. And, unfortunately, he is good at it. According to Futurism.com, citing the South China Morning Post, new research shows that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, may already have mutated into more than 30 separate strains. These results hypothetically explain why some cases of COVID-19 are significantly more severe than others. A large number of mutations increases the viral load by several hundred times, which leads to a greater spread of viral particles. If we simplify the results obtained as much as possible, then the coronavirus becomes even in advance, and the disease can be more severe.
Disturbing news
On April 12, a study was published on the MedRxiv preprint server by one of China's most prolific virologists Li Lanjuan of Zhejiang University and his colleagues. "Sars-CoV-2 has acquired mutations that can significantly alter its pathogenicity," Lee writes.
At the time of this writing, the work has not been peer reviewed or published in a scientific journal (this is the standard procedure for all scientific research). Let me remind you that CoVID-19 attacks the human respiratory system, affecting the lungs and causing SARS. Read more about what the coronavirus does to the human body in the material of the editor-in-chief of Hi-News.ru Renata Grishina.
The mutation can explain why the disease proceeds differently in different cities and countries.
During the study, scientists isolated different strains and in the laboratory measured how quickly and efficiently they can infect and destroy host cells. It turned out that different strains can generate completely different levels of viral load - which means that if one strain generates 270 times more viral load than a less powerful strain, then the infected person produces 270 times more infectious viral particles. This, according to scientists, makes the new strains much more dangerous.
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The presence of such mutations greatly complicates the fight against infections and facilitates their spread. It is possible that this may explain the reason why some people are difficult to tolerate the disease, while others do not show any symptoms at all. The findings suggest that healthcare professionals grossly underestimate the virus's overall ability to mutate. For example, Lee and his team found that different strains infect different parts of the world. This means that a coronavirus vaccine that works for everyone is nearly impossible to invent. "The development of drugs and vaccines, while urgent, must consider the effects of these accumulating mutations to avoid potential pitfalls," the study authors write.
In the course of the work, scientists analyzed strains of 11 randomly selected patients with coronavirus from the Chinese province of Hangzhou, where more than 1,264 cases of the disease were recorded. The researchers then tested how efficiently these strains can infect and kill cells. A sample of 11 people infected with COVID-19 showed more than 30 different mutations, 19 of which had not been previously detected. According to the authors of the article, they obtained evidence that SARS-CoV-2 atypical pneumonia acquired mutations that could significantly change its pathogenicity.
It can take 12 to 18 months to develop a vaccine.
Good news
Scientists were looking for a direct link between mutation and viral pathogenicity. This is because it could be a stepping stone to the invention of a medicine. The fact is that they were able to identify the functional characteristics of 11 viral particles, each of which has at least one mutation. By testing samples from 11 infected patients, scientists are learning a lot more about the virus, as well as our ability to find a cure - as finding a cure and a vaccine is the ultimate goal for scientists around the world today.
The main thing that researchers want to convey with their work is not only to get as deep an understanding as possible for the invention of a vaccine, but also that medical professionals adequately assess the power of the virus. At the time of this writing, the coronavirus has infected more than two million people worldwide, and the number of deaths has exceeded 186 thousand.
Lyubov Sokovikova