Coronavirus has mutated to 30 strains, studies show that US strains have lower mortality than European strains

Researchers have found that there are at least 30 strains of new coronavirus that infect people, and that the most dangerous mutations have been identified in patients throughout Europe. Gentle strains were the dominant varieties found in some parts of the United States, such as Seattle, Washington, according to a new study.

“Despite the rich diversity of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), the key question is whether these mutations actually have a functional effect on SARS-CoV-2 virulence.” It remains crucial in understanding the viral infection mechanism and will determine the strategy for drug and vaccine development to prepare for the next phase of the pandemic, “the Chinese research team said. States.

“To address this, we characterized 11 SARS-CoV-2 virus isolates from patients admitted to the Zhejiang University Hospital in Hangzhou, China, 78 km east of Wuhan,” said Zhejiang. The University Hospital Hospital team said. School of Medicine, China.

The researchers identified a total of 33 mutations and discovered that 19 were new. According to researchers, some mutations may create more deadly strains than others. The particular strains of these patients in China were some of the most dangerous and similar strains spread across Europe. Another Survey The first confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New York City were found to come primarily from European and US sources, rather than from Asia.

“We provide direct evidence that SARS-CoV-2 has acquired a mutation that can substantially change its pathogenicity. Our study shows that the SARS-CoV-2 genome It provides direct evidence that currently occurring mutations have functional potential to influence viral pathogenicity. Preprint The version has been released.

“A diverse collection of mutations was identified in 11 virus isolates, including two sets of founding mutations for two major clusters of viruses that currently infect the world’s population. In addition, 19 identified. Mutations are novel, despite relatively early sampling dates, indicating that the true diversity of virus strains is still largely under-assessed, “they say.

Analysis shows that the most aggressive strains of SARS-CoV-2 can produce 270 times the viral load of the least potent type. The viral load in the body is called the viral load. But the researchers warned that the mild mutations did not suggest a low risk of death.

“While only 11 patient-derived isolates were analyzed in this study, we observed a large diversity of mutations, including some founder mutations in different major clusters of the viruses that are currently circulating worldwide. This diverse mutation spectrum is consistent with relatively fast sampling times and relatively close proximity to Wuhan, where the first virus strain was identified, “the researchers say.

“As with influenza, drug and vaccine development is urgent, but the effects of these accumulated mutations, especially founder mutations, need to be considered to avoid potential pitfalls,” the team recommends. To do.

before Survey, Chinese researchers have identified two separate strains of the new coronavirus. The research team analyzed 103 publicly available genomes from infected individuals, with 70% being the more aggressive type, while the remaining 30% were less aggressive. another Survey Have discovered three different strains of COVID-19, which consist of clusters of “closely related strains”. These are labeled “A”, “B”, and “C”.

More than 2,478,153 cases Reported worldwide As of April 21, COVID-19 outbreaks have killed more than 170,368 people, according to Johns Hopkins trackers.

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