After the mutated strains that emerged from Corona, scientists discovered what may be possible to describe the next stage of Corona's development, which is the hybrid strains, so what is it?
What threat does it pose?
The answers are here with the latest data on Corona vaccines and children, and a drug that provokes a discussion between doctors about Corona.
What are the mutated strains of corona?
Variants are a version of a virus that includes a set of mutations, that is, changes in its genetic material.
And the emergence of mutated copies of the virus is not a surprise, but rather a natural process, because the virus mutates over time to ensure its survival.
And the British health services wrote on its website, "More than 4 thousand mutants of the Corona virus - whose scientific name is SARS-CoV-2) - have been identified around the world," according to what was reported by the French Press Agency.
But the World Health Organization asserts that "most of them have no effect in terms of public health measures."
Currently, 3 mutated copies are considered to be of concern, according to the World Health Organization: one discovered in England, another discovered in South Africa, and a third discovered in Japan (this copy was observed in travelers from Brazil, and therefore it was called the Brazilian mutant).
These three mutants are spread in 125, 75 and 41 countries, respectively, according to Agence France-Presse, on Friday, citing the World Health Organization.
They are classified as "alarming" due to their increased transmissibility and / or severity, thus exacerbating the pandemic and making it more difficult to control, as defined by the organization.
What are the recombinant strains?
What is the difference between them and the mutated strain?
Vincent Marichel, a professor of virology at the Sorbonne University, says that the hybrid viruses and mutated strains are all mutations that play the same role, that is, testing all solutions that enable the virus to continue, according to a report published in the French newspaper "L'Eparisien", by Juliette Bosson .
The traditional mutated strain is considered a mutation that occurs within the genome of a single virus, but the hybrid strain is more like a type of sexual reproduction of viruses, as it is "the product of the mixing of two viruses branching out of an original virus," in the words of Marechal.
In order for this process to happen, it is necessary for two viruses to infect the same cell in one patient, and at a very minute moment a replication occurs, and it results in a change in the matrix, so the enzyme responsible for the birth of a new copy secretes a second hybrid virus.
When were hybrid mutations of the Corona virus discovered?
At the beginning of last February, a researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, USA, confirmed that she had discovered a hybrid virus from the British strain, and from the strain discovered in California.
On March 17, the British team responsible for analyzing SARS-Cove-2 genomes published a study that showed the discovery of about 15 hybrid viruses.
Eleven of them were classified into 4 groups, while the remaining four had different characteristics.
Was this surge sudden?
The author explained that some viruses are able to produce these hybrid mutations more than others, and this applies to corona viruses.
The British team of scientists confirmed in their study that "hybridization is a frequent feature in the molecular evolution of corona viruses."
Andrew Rambot, professor of molecular evolution at the University of Edinburgh, said on Twitter that the crossbreeding phenomenon was "very expected" for the SARS-Cove-2 family.
Specialists say that this type of mutation may be the origin of the virus that caused the Covid-19 pandemic.
Why did these hybrid strains appear now?
Author Juliette Bosson explains that several conditions must be met for these hybrid viruses to emerge.
Two different viruses must share in one place, and two strains must spread simultaneously, as was the case with the British mutated strain, along with the original virus.
The emergence of hybrid viruses is a result of the strong spread of the virus, the more widespread the epidemic spreads, new strains appear and it becomes difficult to control the extent of their spread.
Therefore, according to the author, we can discover these new mutations in areas where the mutated strains were discovered a few months ago.
The British researchers said in this regard, "Since many countries are experiencing an infection rate similar to that in the United Kingdom between late 2020 and early 2021, we expect that hybrid viruses will be discovered."
Is it a cause for concern?
The authors of the study emphasized that these mutations "will not have an immediate effect on the path of the spread of the epidemic," and that their rarity in the United Kingdom currently means that they have not affected the situation significantly.
But Vincent Marichal believes that the emergence of these hybrid strains is not a good thing, because "these mutations can combine in one virus the characteristics of two different viruses," and this combination may pose a threat to the immune system.
Another factor that appears to be of concern is the ability of these hybrids to spread between animals.
Researchers from the Pasteur Institute recently showed that the British, South African and Brazilian mutant strains are capable of infecting mice, although SARS-Cove-2 cannot.
Why do researchers test Corona vaccines on children?
Moving on to another topic, in the United States and the United Kingdom, it is expected that vaccines will be introduced to children in the fall.
While in France, this issue has sparked widespread controversy, especially because minors have a very small risk of seriously contracting the Covid-19 virus.
The writer Nathaniel Herzberg says, in the report published by the French newspaper "lemonde", that the biotechnology company Moderna officially launched on March 16 a clinical trial to test a vaccine against Covid-19 in children aged 6 months. And 11 years old.
In light of this, about 6,750 young "volunteers" have begun to be recruited in the United States and Canada, and have already been injected with the first doses.
According to the company statement, the laboratory leading the process with the National Institutes of Health intends to study "the safety, tolerability, interaction and efficacy of the vaccine."
In this context, the author wonders: Why are children being targeted in this campaign, even though they are at very low risk of severely contracting Covid-19, and they seem to be less affected by the virus?
On February 16, the French Society of Pediatrics issued a statement in this regard, stating: "Often, Covid-19 in children is without symptoms, and children are not considered a major source of infection, and no serious injuries have been reported in their ranks," Even for those with chronic diseases. Currently, there is very little data on the efficacy and safety of these vaccines available for children. So far, this vaccination does not appear to be necessary for children. "
Evan Anderson, professor of pediatrics at Emory University in Atlanta, disputes this analysis.
While he acknowledges the lack of current data, he does not share the opinion of his French colleagues on the potential threats to children.
In September 2020, Anderson, along with 7 other doctors, already published an article in the Journal of Clinical Infectious Diseases calling on laboratories to rapidly develop vaccines for children.
In this he indicated that: "Children are infected with SARS-Cove-2 virus and transmit the virus and have complications."
Hence, safe and effective vaccines can provide both direct and indirect benefits for them.
In addition, children who are very young can develop polysystem inflammatory syndrome in children.
Others who suffer from comorbidity - having more than one comorbidity - develop severe forms of the disease, sometimes fatal.
Among the other benefits of vaccination is that it will be possible for young children to return to their normal daily lives.
"In my opinion, even if mitigation strategies and barriers measures today allow teaching safely, vaccinating children will allow us to return more quickly to regular education," says Geoffrey Gerber, professor of immunology and pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania.
Ivermectin ... the drug that scientists divided
Some studies show the benefit of ivermectin as a treatment against Covid-19 infection.
In contrast, other researchers report that the trials are insufficient.
In his report, published in the French newspaper "lefigaro", writer Paul Carsonac reported that there are dozens of studies conducted around the world, some of which showed the efficacy of Ivermectin against Covid-19.
Because of a lack of resources, none of the trials is conducted with a sufficiently large team of patients, and with a methodology robust enough to make it reliable.
However, health authorities in countries such as Bolivia and Peru encourage the widespread use of this drug.
In Europe, Slovakia has permitted the use of Ivermectin, while the Czech Republic has requested about 10,000 cans of it.
The writer stated that many well-known doctors in this field have called for several months to use this molecule to overcome the virus.
In contrast, many infectious disease physicians have criticized ivermectin.
In an article published in late January at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research, it highlighted systemic biases as well as insufficient evidence of its efficacy.
In an interview with Dominique Costagliola, deputy director of the Pierre Louis Institute for Epidemiology and Public Health, he noted that there are so few articles published, that there is nothing we can conclude from that.
All in all, we should stop initiating endless discoveries of ideas that are not based on pharmacological or pre-clinical logic.
The European Medicines Agency issued a joint press release, stating that "the available data do not support the use of ivermectin to treat Covid-19 disease outside the scope of clinical trials."
According to the agency, "This drug has raised a great controversy because it is only effective in the case of obtaining doses much higher than the permissible at the present time."
"The press release of the European Medicines Agency has long criticized the dosage that it described as an overdose, which indicates their clear bias against the drug," said Christophe Doat, chairman of MediCell - a laboratory in Montpellier working on creating an ivermectin-based treatment for Covid-19.
"We should carry out serious studies, in line with the expectations of the regulatory authorities," said David Ozzy, director of communications at Mediceal.
For these bodies, political will and financial resources are required to conduct these studies.
On this subject, the last word belongs to the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products.