Corona ... 3 new mutated strains that terrify the world

The world is now facing 3 new mutated strains of the emerging corona virus, which causes the "Covid-19" disease, in England, South Africa and Brazil, so why terrify the world? And what are the reasons for experts' fear of them?

In this report, we learn the meaning of variant, and how they differ from the mutation, then we learn about each of the three mutated strains, and the risks they pose, and at the end of the report we bring good news to you.

First: What is the difference between mutation and mutation?

A mutation is a change in the arrangement of the genetic material in the virus, and some of these mutations may not leave a trace in the virus, but some of them may affect its ability to transmit and infect.

Variant - also known as a mutated strain - is a version of the virus that includes a set of mutations, which means that each mutated strain includes a set of mutations.

We move now to the new mutated strains

British mutated dynasty

Name: "B.1.1.7" (B.1.1.7)

The most important mutations it contains:

N501Y: This mutation makes the virus more common, according to a report in the French newspaper, Le Figaro, by authors Cyrille Vanlerberg, Marc Cherky and Tristan in Vanson-Bordenev.

70 del-69 (69-70del)

P681H (P681H)

South African modified subspecies

Known by more than one name: “B.1.351 ″ (B.1.351),” V2.

501 '' (501.V2)

The most important mutations it contains:

N501Y (N501Y)

K417N (K417N)

E484K: According to the Le Figaro report, this mutation is of great concern because it has properties that resist the most effective antibodies released by the bodies of patients recovering from "Covid-19".

Scientists have warned that the strain discovered in South Africa may be able to sneak through parts of the immune system to about half of people who were infected with different strains earlier, according to German News Agency.

The British newspaper "Daily Mail" quoted researchers as saying that it appears that a mutation in a certain part of the virus's external spinal protein gives it the ability to "escape" from the antibodies.

Academics from South Africa concluded that 48% of blood samples from people who were infected with the Coronavirus in the past did not show an immune reaction to the new strain, and one of the researchers said, "It is clear that we have a problem."

The lead researcher on the study, Benny Moore, said that people who had strong symptoms of Corona virus in the first infection and had a stronger immune reaction, were less likely to be infected again.

The study indicated that this means that people who were infected with the Coronavirus 3 months or more ago may not have full natural immunity if they were infected with the newest strain of the virus.

Brazilian mutated subspecies

Name: B.1.1.248 (B.1.1.248)

The most important mutations it contains:

N501Y (N501Y)

E484K (E484K)

According to the report of Le Figaro, the discovery of the third mutation in Brazil caused more noise, because it carries the characteristics of two mutations, and it has caused a new wave of infection to spread in the city of Manaus, which was greatly affected by the first wave and scientists believed that its inhabitants were close to acquiring group immunity.

According to the authors of the report, this strain, which was discovered in Brazil, is the most common infection and resistance to the immunity acquired after the first wave.

Why do these mutations make the virus more contagious?

The speed with which the new strain has spread in the United Kingdom indicates that it is 50% to 70% more contagious than the original virus.

The biological reasons were not clear, but suspicions centered on the N501Y mutation, which is a common denominator with the South African and Brazilian strains.

And it seems that this mutation changes the shape of the spines, that is, the protrusions that fill the surface of the virus, as this mutation changes the spine of the virus (a protein protrusion that allows it to enter cells).

It is suspected that it makes these mutated versions of the virus more infectious because it is located at the site of binding of the viral receptor to enter the cell, which increases its ability (the virus) to bind to the receptor in the target cell.

The result is that it only takes less amount of virus to infect someone.

Where did the spread of new strains reach?

According to the World Health Organization, today, Wednesday, the British version of the modified Corona virus has been detected in at least 60 countries and regions so far.

The mutated version of the virus that was detected in Britain, which is more contagious than the original SARS-Cove-2 virus and worries many countries, was only spread in 50 countries on January 12.

The organization said, in its weekly newsletter on the situation of the epidemic, that the second mutated version that appeared for the first time in South Africa is believed to be more contagious than the British version, but it is spreading more slowly. On its part, it was monitored in 23 countries and regions until today, an increase of 3 from the number that was recorded. On January 12.

Very fast development

The new strain discovered in England is developing in a very rapid mechanism, and the writer Vanson Bordonaf mentioned in the report published by the French newspaper Le Figaro that in January the epidemiological situation - in France - is still very fragile.

The number of new daily infections is about 20 thousand cases, while the number of cases has increased in hospital and in intensive care for about 10 days.

The basic reproduction number is estimated at 1.19, according to the National Public Health Agency, which means that the epidemic is developing.

The increase is less strong than the one that France experienced last November, and it is still too early to determine the effects of the curfew starting at 6 pm, but the expectations of epidemiologists are not very encouraging.

The basic reproduction number indicates the average number of people an infected person is expected to transmit the disease to, and scientists use it to predict the extent and speed of the disease spread, and helps to set policies on how to contain the outbreak.

"Had there not been a threat of new strains of the virus, the situation would have stabilized in the next few weeks," says Vittoria Colliza, director of research at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research, specializing in infectious disease modeling.

Are masks effective with new strains of Corona?

The Supreme Council of Health in France has recommended avoiding the use of some low-quality cloth face masks, as they are less effective in preventing infection with the Coronavirus.

In a report, the French newspaper "Le Figaro" quoted an official in the Supreme Council of Public Health, that in the face of the new rapidly spreading strain of Corona virus, which first appeared in Britain, the Council recommends avoiding the use of some "less filtered" cloth masks.

Didier Lubelletier, head of the working group against "Covid-19" of the Supreme Council of Health, said, "On the occasion of the spread of some new strains of Corona virus that are more contagious than their predecessor in Europe, and in light of the absence of change in the methods of transmission of infection, the question that poses itself here revolves around The category of masks that may be suggested to the general public. "

He added that the working group of the council’s advisory body developed a set of new recommendations at the end of the week to be presented to the Ministry of Health.

According to the authority, it is better to wear reusable cloth face masks of the first category, rather than the low-filtering masks of the second category or hand-made masks, in order to reduce the spread of infection.

According to the standards adopted by the French Association for Standardization (Afnor), the first category masks filter 90% of the particles, while the percentage drops to 70% when using the second category masks.

Lubelletier stresses that the first category cloth masks approved by the General Administration of the Armed Forces are as effective as surgical masks.

Regarding the recommendations regarding the use of high-quality masks, the working group of the Supreme Council of Health also stresses that the safety distance to prevent the transmission of infection is two meters, not one meter.

“On the occasion of the December notices related to the shops or the holiday season, we have actually moved to the adoption of a social spacing distance of no less than two meters. The new data may be an opportunity to formalize this policy. But the Ministry of Health,” Lubelletier explains. There are two options left, either to follow the recommendations of the Supreme Council of Health or ignore them. In general, these scientific opinions aim to guide decision-makers in taking appropriate health policies.

The good news

1- Salem Abdel-Karim, a co-chair of the Ministerial Advisory Committee for Covid-19 Disease Affairs in South Africa, said that the data showed that the new strain - South Africa - is not likely to cause the patient to enter hospital or die, according to The news agency "Bloomberg" (Bloomberg) reported Tuesday, and the German news agency.

2- The results of laboratory tests showed, today, Wednesday, that the "Covid-19" vaccine reached by Pfizer and Pfizer-BioNTech will likely prevent the most contagious strain of the Coronavirus, which was discovered in Britain and spread around the world.

The promising results are based on an analysis of the participants' blood samples and an extensive analysis compared to the analyzes published by the US company Pfizer last week.

And last week, Pfizer said that a similar laboratory study showed that the vaccine was effective against one major mutation called "N501Y", which was detected in the two new strains discovered in Britain and South Africa.

3- Nothing indicates that this mutation is sufficient to make the mutants resistant to current vaccines, say scientists, according to a report in Deutsche Welle.

In fact, even if it turns out that the antibodies do not recognize this mutation well, they will be able to target the other components in the mutated viruses, in principle, as Vincent Innov of the Pasteur Institute in Paris explained that "even if their ability decreased, they would still be able to neutralize the virus." ".

"I don't think this mutation alone poses a problem for vaccines," said immunologist Renu Rapoli, researcher and scientific director at the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline.

Rabouli participated in the preparation of a study released on December 28, whose goal was to monitor the emergence of a mutated virus in the laboratory, and concluded that "we must develop vaccines and antibodies capable of controlling the emerging mutants."

But this mutation "could be the beginning of problems" for vaccines, according to Professor Gupta, who said that "at this stage, all vaccines are supposed to be effective, but what worries us is the possibility of future mutations" added to those we are already monitoring, calling for "vaccination." As quickly as possible everywhere in the world. "