A global study states a new form of the coronavirus has spread from Europe to the United States. The new mutation makes the virus more likely to infect people but does not seem to make them any sicker than earlier variations. In a report, Erica Ollmann Saphire of the La Jolla Institute for Immunology and the Coronavirus Immunotherapy Consortium, said, “It is now the dominant form infecting people. This is now the virus.”
Published in the journal Cell, the study builds on some earlier work the team did that was released on a preprint server earlier in the year. Shared information on genetic sequences had indicated that a certain mutant version of the virus was taking over. The team has checked genetic sequences, and run experiments involving people, animals and cells in lab dishes that show the mutated version is more common, and infectious than other versions.
The researchers are now checking to see whether this affects the ability to control the virus by a vaccine. Published in the journal Cell, the study confirms earlier work suggesting the mutation had made the new variant of virus more common. The researchers call the new mutation G614. It has completely replaced the first version to spread in Europe and the US – which was called D614.
Theoretical biologist Bette Korber of Los Alamos National Laboratory along with other researchers, wrote in their report, “Our global tracking data show that the G614 variant in Spike has spread faster than D614. We interpret this to mean that the virus is likely to be more infectious. Interestingly, we did not find evidence of G614 impact on disease severity.”
Samples taken from patients across Europe and the US were tested. Their genome sequences were compared to what's been shared publicly. The team wrote, “Through March 1, 2020, the G514 variant was rare outside of Europe, but the end of March it had increased in frequency worldwide.” They added, “The increase in G614 frequency often continues well after stay-at-home orders are in place and past the subsequent two-week incubation period.”
The new version reportedly multiplies faster in the upper respiratory tract – the nose, sinuses and throat. However, tests on 1,000 hospitalised coronavirus patients in Britain showed those infected with the new version did not fare any worse than those who caught the original strain.
