Variant with dangerous mutation, SARS-CoV-2 has released the strongest ‘card’?

The rapid rise of new SARS-CoV-2 variants that are more contagious and mutually common in different parts of the world has led scientists to question: Is the SARS-CoV-2 virus? has released the strongest ‘card’ yet?
Does the SARS-CoV-2 virus have released the strongest “card”?

The new variants were first spotted in countries like Brazil, South Africa and the UK that spontaneously appeared in the last few months of 2020. The main concern was a change in the mutant protein structure of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, known as E484K, in all three variants in the three countries, the researchers said. The E484K mutation is thought to impair the body’s immune response to the virus. Some scientists expressed concern that the E484K mutation could “elude” the natural immunity from SARS-CoV-2 infection and decrease the protection of existing Covid-19 vaccines. Artwork: Getty Images According to scientists interviewed by Reuters, the appearance of virus variants in different regions of the world shows that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is undergoing “convergent evolution”. Although SARS-CoV-2 will continue to mutate, they suspect the virus will have only a certain number of variants, immunologists and virologists say. However, it is still important to consider whether or not to limit the number of variants that make the SARS-CoV-2 virus less dangerous. “It can be said that the SARS-CoV-2 virus has a relatively limited number of variants that avoid antibodies before releasing the strongest ‘card’,” said Shane Crotty, virologist at La Institute of Immunology. Jolla in San Diego (USA) said. This could allow drug manufacturers to control disease while they develop the booster Covid-19 vaccine to suppress the current variant. Meanwhile, governments around the world are still struggling to control the pandemic that has killed nearly 3 million people globally. The opinion that the SARS-CoV-2 virus has only a certain amount of mutation has been the subject of discussion among experts since the beginning of February. According to a study, scientists have discovered seven variations of SARS. -CoV-2 appears in the US, has the same mutation. The convergent evolutionary process of SARS-CoV-2 According to Reuters, the process by which different species evolve similar traits to improve survival is central to evolutionary biology. The wide spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, with more than 128 million infections worldwide, allows scientists to observe the viral evolution in practice. “If you want to write a book about the evolution of viruses, you can do it now,” said Dr. Francis Collins, director of the US National Institutes of Health in an interview. Scientists saw the virus evolve on a smaller scale in 2018 when the H7N9 avian flu virus in China began adapting to a human host. However, there has never been a globally controlled virus such as SARS-CoV-2. Wendy Barclay, a virologist and professor at Imperial College London (UK), said she was amazed at the “staggering amount of convergent evolution” of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. “There are dangerous mutations like E484K, N501Y and K417N that all three variants in Brazil, South Africa and UK are carrying,” Ms. Barclay said. SARS-CoV-2 is not a “particularly smart” virus, the scientists said. Each time it infects people, SARS-CoV-2 makes copies of itself, and for each copy, it can make a mistake. While some of the mistakes are insignificant, the ones that give this virus an existential advantage tend to be long-lasting. “If this is repeated, it will provide some developmental advantages for the SARS-CoV-2 virus,” said Francis Collins. Some experts believe that the virus has a limited number of mutations that can be sustained before affecting its ability to function. Besides, too many mutations will cause the virus to no longer exist in the original version. “If the SARS-CoV-2 virus had an infinite number of ‘tricks,’ we would see a multitude of mutations,” said Michel Nussenzweig, an immunologist at Rockefeller University in New York. Cautious optimism However, the scientists remain cautious and say, predicting how much SARS-CoV-2 will mutate is a challenge. If there is a limit to how this virus can evolve, that would be simpler for the vaccine developers. The Novavax company is making adjustments to the vaccine to prevent variation in South Africa. However, trials have shown that the efficacy of the vaccine against the variant in South Africa is quite low. “The virus can mutate a lot and it still binds to a human host,” Novavax CEO Stan Erck said and hopes the vaccine will be effective for most of the current strains. According to Mr. Stan Erck, Novavax will continue to test vaccines for new strains of strains. Scientists have recently identified seven variants of SARS-Cov-2 in the US, with all mutations occurring in the same key location of the virus. This provides additional evidence of viral convergence evolution. Other research groups are working on exposing the virus to antibodies to force it to mutate. In many cases, the E484K mutation has appeared in the experiment. According to Reuters, the above evidence adds to the cautious optimism that the mutants appear to have many similar characteristics. However, experts say the world must continue to monitor for changes in the SARS-CoV-2 virus and eliminate its ability to mutate by reducing infection through vaccination and restrictive measures. the spread of the disease. “SARS-CoV-2 is still going very strong. We don’t know when the battle against the pandemic will end, ”said Vaughn Cooper, an expert in evolutionary biology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (USA).