A new deadly Covid variant puts the world on alert: Report

As the world continues to fight the microscopic villain Coronavirus, the emergence of a new variant of the deadly virus puts the world on “alert” as 2021 knocks on the door. A new strain of codename B.1.1.7 has been widely tracked in recent incidents in the United Kingdom.Various countries have suspended round-trip flights to the United Kingdom following the discovery of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2.. Read again- Can COVID-19 patients also be vaccinated?Answers to frequently asked questions about vaccination

Scientists trying to understand new variants of Covid-19

Scientists have scrambled to understand if the British variant titled “B.1.1.7” is really proficient in human-to-human transmission. They are also wondering how it evolved so rapidly. Read again- COVID-19 LiveUpdate: Indian cases surged to 10,075,116 and deaths reached 1,46,111

According to top journals Science, The “B.1.1.7” variant acquired 17 mutations at a time — a feat never seen before. Read again- Pandemics have increased deaths from heart disease.Experts explain the harmful effects of Covid-19 on your heart

“Currently, we’re desperate to characterize some of these mutations in our lab,” said Andrew Lambeau, a molecular evolution biologist at the University of Edinburgh, as the journal said on Sunday. It was.

According to researchers, this variant (also known as VUI-202012 / 01) is now beginning to dominate existing versions. Coronavirus..

Covid-19 variants detected in the Netherlands, Denmark and other countries

Worrying, scientists say that “B.1.1.7” may already be much more prevalent. Other than the United Kingdom, it has been detected in the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy and Australia.

“The UK has the most sophisticated SARS-CoV-2 genome monitoring in the world, so we may have adopted it first. In many countries there are few or no sequences,” the report said. ..

According to Ramboat, there are eight mutations in the gene encoding spike proteins on the surface of the virus in 17, two of which are of particular concern.

“It has been previously shown that what is called N501Y increases how tightly a protein binds to the ACE2 receptor, which is the gateway to human cells,” he said.

The other, named 69-70del, has been found in a virus that loses two amino acids in the spike protein and evades the immune response in some immunocompromised patients.

“Currently, there is a desperate push to try to characterize some of these mutations in the lab.”

The evolutionary process that led to B.1.1.7 can occur elsewhere and is afraid of scientists.

“Whatever enabled the emergence of the B.1.1.7 strain may be occurring in other parts of the world. Can it actually be detected and followed up? That’s for me. It’s one of the important things, “said Kristian Andersen, an infectious disease researcher at Scripps Research.

Scientists are becoming more convinced that new variants of the coronavirus are more contagious.

“A memo from the meeting of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) in the United Kingdom on December 18th said that the group said,” VUI-202012 / 01 has a substantial increase in transmission rate compared to other variants I have a moderate degree of confidence in showing. “

That may seem obvious given how rapidly the strain appears to be spreading, but it boosts variants, especially because scientists don’t know what might be making a viral strain. It may be difficult to rule out other explanations such as Superspreader events, which are more infectious.

Variant growth rate is 71% higher than other variants

“Previous variants successfully emerged during periods of low prevalence without clear evidence of selective benefits, but the emergence of VUI-202012 / 01 during periods of relatively high prevalence. And its subsequent dominance suggests that VUI-202012 / 01 has selective advantages over other variants, “said the UK’s New Respiratory Virus Threat Advisory Group (NERVTAG). ) Written by scientists who were part of.

“The new strains showed exponential growth during the period of national blockade,” NERVTAG said in a memo.

Scientists estimate that the rate of growth of the virus is 71 percent higher than other variants of the virus.

“Four possible reinfections were identified among 915 subjects of this variant.”

However, NERVTAG scientists currently write that there is insufficient data to say what the mechanism of increased infectivity is, or whether the mutant is more lethal.

To date, about 1,000 cases have been confirmed to have killed four people, and more data have been collected.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says it is working closely with UK healthcare authorities to understand how new mutant coronavirus variants affect its course. Pandemic..

(With input from IANS)

Published: December 21, 2020 9:25 pm | Updated: December 22, 2020 12:14 pm