Coronavirus: Experts have discovered a variant from Tanzania that “has more mutations than known strains”

Researchers have found a Covid variant in Tanzania that is thought to have more mutations than any other strain.

Virologists said it appeared to be more removed from the original Wuhan virus than any other strain known in science, including the variants found in Kent. South Africa And India..

After flying from Tanzania to Angola’s airport in mid-February, it was first picked up by three travelers who were tested at Angola’s airport.

Researchers examined the sample in the laboratory and found that there were 34 changes in the virus. Fourteen of them were in “spiked” proteins that were used to latch into human cells and cause disease.

For comparison, the Kent mutant has 17 significant genetic changes and the spike has eight. South African stocks are even lower.

Professor Trio de Oliveira, who discovered this variant, said: “This is the most diverse when compared to other varieties of interest or varieties of interest.”

He described the strain, known as A.VOI.V2, as “the most diverse A strain ever described.” Line A is a direct offspring of the original Wuhan strain of the virus.

However, this comparison does not include Kent and South African variants. These are strain B, dating back to another strain that became dominant in Europe last summer.

It is not known enough for scientists to determine if a variant of Tanzania is more dangerous than the existing one.

And because sub-Saharan Africa is not well tested and genetically sampled, it is impossible to know how widespread it is.

Professor Trio de Oliveira said A.VOI.V2 is “potentially interesting” simply because of the high number of mutations.

Professor Deolibeira announced his findings with a colleague at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. Ministry of Health of Angola. Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Universities in Rio de Janeiro, Oxford and Cape Town.

Professor Deolibeira said on Twitter:

‘Also [worried] We were found by three travelers from Tanzania, Angola. There is little data from Covid in Tanzania.

“This is the most diverse when compared to other variants of interest or variants of interest.”

The graphs published in this paper only compared it to the other five major mutants, suggesting that some of those samples contained more mutations than the Tanzania strain. .. Not all samples are the same. Also, some samples have extra mutations because the virus is constantly changing and not all changes continue.

The reason scientists are concerned about many mutations is that they increase the risk of vaccine immunity and past infections failing.

Immune system antibodies that destroy when a virus invades the body are specific and are not very effective against viruses that have never been seen before.

That’s why the UK is preparing a booster vaccine campaign this fall. This gives people special protection against South African variants that have mutated from the original vaccine base. The current jab is expected to work, but it may be less effective than it is on the Kent strain.

Therefore, many vaccinated people may be re-infected or ill even after a jab if a new variant becomes predominant in the future.

In their treatise, published as a preprint and not reviewed by independent scientists, Professor de Oliveira and colleagues state that some of the mutations in the Tanzania variant are the same as in other strains. I did.

For example, what is called E484K is found in P1 mutants in South Africa and Brazil and is thought to help the virus bypass immunity from current vaccines. Nothing else was seen before.

The 31 mutations occurred in a way that meant that the amino acid (component) of that sequence was exchanged for another amino acid. These are called replacements. And in the remaining three mutations, the amino acids were completely eliminated – deleted.

In this paper, researchers suggested that Tanzania variants may have “resistance to neutralizing antibodies and potentially increased transmissibility.”

The team wrote: “Although only three cases of this new subspecies of interest have been detected, there are mostly undocumented epidemics in the source countries and public health measures to prevent their spread domestically and internationally. It’s rarely done, so an urgent investigation is needed. “

The actual magnitude of the outbreak in Tanzania is unknown, but the World Health Organization has recorded 24,518 confirmed cases and 563 deaths there.

Both Tanzania and Angola are on the UK Travel Red List. This means that visitors from these countries are not allowed to enter the UK. Only British citizens or residents can travel and must be quarantined at the hotel for at least 10 days and regularly inspected.

The latest variant that rattles British politicians and scientists is the first strain found in India, found on more than 200 positive test swabs.

Number 10 just announced yesterday that India will be added to the UK travel “Red List” and measures will not begin until 4am on Friday.

Due to the desperate scrambling to meet the quarantine deadline, at least 5,000 people will arrive from India to the United Kingdom before travel restrictions come into effect.

With the growing number of variants in the country and the spiral epidemic in India, the Prime Minister had to cancel his scheduled visit to Delhi next week.

Professor Paul Hunter, an epidemiologist at the University of East Anglia, added: in response to the incident of a new Indian variant:

“It’s still a bit early to know what’s really going on with this variant, but the signs aren’t looking good.”