Recently, it has been claimed that the 'delta mutation' virus, which is rapidly spreading around the world, has the ability to evade the existing Corona 19 antibody.
According to Indian media such as the Times of India, researchers at the 'Gujarat Biotechnology Research Center' in India made this claim based on computer simulations in a recent paper.
In this paper, which is currently being peer-reviewed, the researchers argue that delta mutations can evade antibodies formed through infection or vaccination.
The researchers noted that in the case of the delta mutation, the mutation was found in the NTD (N-terminal domain) of the spike protein.
Spike proteins are proteins that protrude out of the viral envelope and are utilized when the virus binds to a receptor on the host cell.
In particular, it is said that mutations in the NTD of the spike protein make it difficult to identify the target of the antibody.
Because of this, the researchers claim that the delta mutation can avoid attack by the immune system and increase the infectivity.
Delta mutation refers to a mutated COVID-19 virus first discovered in India, and has been confirmed in more than 80 countries around the world so far.
The delta mutation is known to have about 60% more transmission power than the original Corona 19 virus as well as the alpha mutation from the UK.
In the United States, 10% of new infections are due to delta mutations, raising concerns that it will soon become a dominant species.
However, other experts in India said the 'immune evasion' of the delta mutation is not yet widely confirmed.
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