One of them appeared in an Arab country ... Learn about the latest 3 strains of Corona

With the world's continuing efforts in vaccination campaigns to control the emerging corona virus (Covid-19), data have appeared on 3 new strains of the virus, so what are they? And what information do we have about them?

A strain - also known as a "variant" - is a version of the virus that includes a set of mutations, which means that every mutated strain includes a set of mutations.

A mutation (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.

The three new strains are:

California dynasty

This strain was discovered in 19 countries, and it is concentrated in California, according to a report in the Guardian by Manvie Singh, which quoted two studies, called (B.1.427 / B.1.429), and it caught the attention of scientists for the first time in November 2020, and it belongs to To a strain believed to have emerged last May.

The mutation contains three mutations that change the shape of the protein called "spike" (spke) on the surface of the Corona virus, which is a protein found on the outside of the virus, and plays an important role in helping the virus enter cells.

Other strains - including those that were first discovered in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Brazil - also have mutations in the spike protein.

The researchers are concerned that these changes may make it difficult for the immune system to quickly recognize the virus and stop it.

Infectious disease researcher Charles Chiu - a doctor at the University of California, San Francisco, who led the research - warned that the results were a warning, in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.

Chiu did not respond to multiple requests from The Guardian for comment.

The author Singh said that neither of the studies told us the reason for the high rates of transmission, and the virus could become more common due to some luck, or because it is a bit more transmissible.

“I don’t think there is any doubt that this percentage is becoming more common in California, but I think that the amount of samples in California is not sufficient to fully determine the cause,” said William Hanag, an epidemiologist at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. And I think we must be careful. "

Hanag said that although the California variant is now more common in the state, researchers believe it has likely been around since at least May.

"I am not panicked, and you should not panic either," said Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco.

In contrast, Meredith Wadman said in a report in the Journal of Science that the California strain appears to be somewhat more transmissible and increases patients' risk of admission to the ICU and death.

Strain B1525 B1525

This strain was reported by researchers at the University of Edinburgh, where they said that it was discovered through genome sequencing in 10 countries, including Denmark, the United States and Australia, with 32 cases found in the United Kingdom so far, according to a report in the Guardian.

The earliest sequences of this strain were dated December and appeared in the United Kingdom and Nigeria.

The team says that the new strain has similarities to the British "Kent variant" (B117), and contains a number of mutations that have worried researchers, including the E484K mutation (E484K) in the spike protein.

This E484K mutation is present in strains that appeared in South Africa and Brazil, and is believed to help the virus evade the antibodies.

Dr. Simon Clark - assistant professor of cellular microbiology at the University of Reading - said that while it was not clear what effect many of the mutations would have on Corona's ability to infect or on disease severity, the E484K mutation was known in the strain. South Africa confers some degree of resistance to some vaccines.

He said, "We do not yet know the extent of this strain, but if it succeeds (in spreading) it can be assumed that immunity from any vaccine or among those who have had a previous infection will weaken."

Dynasty in Tunisia

On February 20, the head of the leadership committee of the national campaign for vaccination against Corona in Tunisia, Al-Hashemi Al-Wazir, announced - during a press conference at the Ministry of Health headquarters in the capital, Tunis - that a new mutated strain of the Corona virus had been discovered in his country.

"An altered (mutated) strain of this virus has been identified in Tunisia, and the process of genetic diagnosis is still continuing according to the established standards and recommendations," the minister said.

He explained that "the results of the initial investigation of this genetic change have not yet proven a specific risk, either at the level of symptoms or the speed of spread of the virus."

For his part, the Director-General of Health, Dr. Faisal bin Saleh - according to the Ministry of Health Facebook page - stated that the initial data and results of this genetic change are reassuring in terms of the speed of spread and the speed of disease, and that the Ministry's interests are currently focusing on the process of investigating and the genetic cutting of samples and supporting the laboratory monitoring plan within the scope of Confirming these data and identifying the physiological characteristics of this strain, as well as focusing on the epidemiological follow-up of people in contact, to ascertain the epidemiological implications of the virus.

Later, Tunisia announced the first death of the local mutated strain of Coronavirus, in a statement by Al-Hashemi, the minister, to the official news agency.

The minister said, "The deceased is 70 years old, and the virus detection test showed that he is a carrier of a new local strain of Corona," and that "he suffers from several chronic diseases, including diabetes, blood pressure and heart," and "is one of two cases that were discovered to be infected with the local strain, and the infected person." The second is a young 17-year-old. "

The minister stated that a team of researchers will complete a complete genetic diagnosis process to identify the characteristics of this strain, and continued, saying, "The changes of the virus led to the emergence of the new strain, whose spread and severity is not known until now."