C
Chris Smith
Guest
- A new coronavirus mutation was discovered in South Africa, where a version called 501.V2 seems to be fueling the second wave of COVID-19 in the nation.
- The new strain seems to be more dangerous, causing more severe illness in younger patients who do not suffer from other medical conditions.
- Health experts believe the new SARS-CoV-2 strain can still be defeated with the current vaccines.
Like any other pathogen, the novel coronavirus is constantly evolving in response to the hosts it infects. It’s a mutation that allowed the virus to jump species between animals and ultimately reach humans. At least, that’s what researchers think happened with the original strain that infected the first people. The upcoming WHO investigation in China might uncover more answers about the early days of the Wuhan outbreak.
SARS-CoV-2 continued to mutate after that, with scientists tracking those genetic changes closely. This is crucial because mutations can make a virus more infectious or dangerous and can hinder drug and vaccine research. Several notable novel coronavirus strains have been found so far. The D614G mutation is believed to be responsible for the current status of the pandemic. This mutation doesn’t make the virus more dangerous, but it did become more infectious. D614G left China and infected most of the world, returning to Asia a few months later. Since then, other strains have been discovered, including a couple of new coronavirus versions that are spreading rapidly in the UK and South Africa. Now, it appears as though the latter might be more dangerous of the two.
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Another coronavirus mutation was discovered – and this one might be more dangerous originally appeared on BGR.com on Sat, 19 Dec 2020 at 14:53:37 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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