What We Know About the New Variant of Coronavirus
Since the beginning of the global epidemic of novel Coronavirus, scientists have been monitoring whether any changes in the gene of the virus have happened. All viruses have mutations. This means that the virus changes itself constantly. Sometimes mutations do not affect the virus, or even very rarely.
Dr Lucy Van Dorp is an expert on the evolution of the human body’s disease-causing atoms. He said that most of the time, these (mutations) are not important. Most of the mutations are seen in the SARS-Cov-2 genome do not change the virus, he added.
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Many changes do not affect the behavior of the virus. But in both cases, the virus causes some mutations that have a positive effect on their survival and fertility. The mutation of the Coronavirus that is spreading from the UK is spreading at an unusual speed.
This new variant of Coronavirus has been first detected in the UK. The United Kingdom is not the only country where this new form of the Coronavirus has been found.
It has already been detected in Italy, Iceland, Denmark, Canada, Sweden and the Netherlands in Europe. Also, it is found in Australia.
In addition, since the new mutation was detected in the UK in September, the new strain of Coronavirus may have reached other countries due to human migration. However, it has not been identified yet.
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According to the authorities of South Africa, they have already started an investigation into a new version of the Coronavirus in association with World Health Organization. The virus is already spreading to many parts of South Africa, especially since the new form of Coronavirus is infecting the young population more than ever before.
The mutation found in the UK has a number of similarities with the one found in South Africa. But it is not exactly the same. This new type has now become the main variant of the Coronavirus in South Africa.
Why is this variant causing concern?
Prof Nick Loman, from the Covid-19 Genomics UK Consortium, told the BBC: “Laboratory experiments are required, but do you want to wait weeks or months [to see the results and take action to limit the spread]? Probably not in these circumstances.”
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Since Chinese researchers first published the genome sequence of the coronavirus in January, scientists around the world have been sharing information extensively.
Scientists have created more than 2.5 million SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences worldwide. This has led to the mutation being identified as a ’cause of anxiety’ so quickly.
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The main question now is whether these new variant of Coronavirus mutations will have any effect on the effectiveness of the vaccine.
Most experts say that the new mutation will reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine, at least not yet.
However, Dr. Van Dorp says that the question will become more and more important to scientists in the coming days.
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