Scientists raise concerns rather than watch out for new virus strains

Q: Where did this new strain come from?

A: New variants have been seen since the virus was first detected in China almost a year ago. The WHO said in a statement on Monday that the virus often mutates or makes small changes as it propagates and travels within the population. This is “natural and expected”.

“Most mutations are trivial. It’s the change in one or two letters of the genetic alphabet that doesn’t make a big difference in their ability to cause illness,” said the former illness that directs the Global Health Program in Boston. Dr. Philipland Rigan, a scientist at the Center for Management and Prevention, said. College.

A further concern is when the virus mutates by altering proteins on its surface to help it escape the drug or immune system, or when it acquires many changes that differ significantly from previous versions.

Q: How does one stock dominate?

A: This can happen if one stock is a “founder” stock. This is because the stock that first settled and began to spread to the area, or the “superspreader” event, helped establish the stock.

It can also occur when it benefits a new mutant, such as helping the mutation spread more easily than other strains in the circulation, as in the United Kingdom.

“It’s more contagious than the original strain,” Randrigan said. “The reason it has become the dominant stock in the UK is because it wins the race because it beats other stocks, moves faster and infects more people.”

Scientists are still working to see if the strains in the UK can spread more easily, said Monsef Slawi, chief science adviser for the US government’s COVID-19 vaccine campaign. He also said that a hidden case of “sowing” could have “occurred in the shadows” before scientists began looking for it.

The strain was first detected in September, WHO officials said.

Q: What are you worried about?

A: It has many mutations-nearly 20-and eight are in the spike proteins that the virus uses to attach and infect cells. Spikes are targeted at vaccines and antibody drugs.

Dr. Ravi Gupta, a virus expert at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, said modeling studies suggest that they can be up to twice as infectious as the strains that were most common in the United Kingdom to date. It was.He and other researchers I posted a report On the websites that scientists use to share developments quickly, it has not been officially reviewed or published in the journal.

Q: Can it make people sick or even die?

A: “There are no signs that neither is correct, but obviously these are two issues we should pay attention to,” Landrigan said. As more patients become infected with the new strain, “they will know pretty soon whether the new strain will make people sick.”

Maria Van Kerkhove, a WHO outbreak expert, said Monday that “there is information that there has been no change so far” in the type and severity of the disease caused by the new strain.

Q: What does mutation mean for treatment?

A: In some cases in the United Kingdom, there are concerns that mutations in some new strains may compromise the effectiveness of drugs that supply antibodies that prevent the virus from infecting cells.

“Research into antibody reactions is currently underway, and we expect results to come out in the next few days to weeks,” said Wankelhof.

Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical company, said laboratory tests using strains containing the mutations of greatest concern suggest that the drug remains fully active.

Q: What about vaccinations?

A: Slawi said the current vaccine is still presumed to be effective against the mutant, but scientists are working to confirm it.

“My expectation is that this won’t be a problem,” he said.

“I don’t think it will affect the vaccine,” British officials said.

Vaccines not only encourage the immune system to make antibodies against the virus, but also provoke a wide range of immune system responses, so they are still expected to work, some scientists said.

Q: What are the good things about travel restrictions?

A: I think Landrigan can do it.

“If the new strain is actually more contagious than the original strain, it is very wise to limit travel,” he said. “It slows things down. Whenever you can break the chain of infections, you can slow down the virus.”

CNN said Fouch had not criticized other countries for suspending travel to Britain, but said he would not advise the United States to take such steps.

At this time, the existence or extent of new shares in the United States is unknown.

Q: What can you do to mitigate the risk?

A: According to public health experts, follow the advice, wear a mask, wash your hands frequently, stay socially distant and avoid the crowd.

“The bottom line is that we need to control the infection of all strains of the virus that can cause COVID-19,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Gebreyes, WHO Secretary-General.

“The more mutations we allow to spread, the more mutations occur.”

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Associated Press writers Christina Larson of Washington and Candice Choi of New York contributed to this report.

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The Associated Press’s Department of Health Sciences is supported by the Department of Science Education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. AP is solely responsible for all content.

File-In this December 1, 2020 file photo, people are waiting for their turn to be asked for a PCR test for COVID-19 outside a hospital in Barcelona, ​​Spain. Scientists say there is reason to worry about new strains of the coronavirus, especially those that are currently prevalent in the UK, but you don’t need to be vigilant. (AP Photo / Emilio Morenatti, File)

Credit: Emilio Morenatti

Credit: Emilio Morenatti

On Monday, December 21, 2020, security guards guarded the entrance to the ferry terminal after the port of Dover in the United Kingdom was closed and access to the Eurotunnel Terminal was suspended following the announcement by the French government. France has banned all travel from the United Kingdom for 48 hours from midnight on Sunday, including trucks carrying cargo through tunnels under the English Channel or from Dover Port on the south coast of England. (AP Photo / Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Credits: Kirsty Wigglesworth

Credits: Kirsty Wigglesworth