Seven new coronavirus variants have appeared in the United States since last summer, according to a new study – and scientists are worried they could be more contagious.
The new variants – each named after a bird – were detailed in a 25-page medical study published online Sunday, which has not yet been evaluated by colleagues.
The variants are similar in that each moves the 677th amino acid of the coronavirus, found on the “tip” that the virus uses to attach to healthy cells – raising fears that the changes could make them more infectious.
“This stretch of Spike is important because of its proximity to a key region for virulence,” Vaughn Cooper, one of the study’s lead authors and director of the Center for Biology and Evolutionary Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, told CNN.
The mutations were discovered by scientists across the country who perform genetic sequencing on positive COVID-19 tests.
Are:
- “Robin 1”, which “is found in over 30 US states, but predominates in the Midwest,” according to the study. It was first detected in August.
- “Robin 2”, which was first found in a sample collected in early October in Alabama. Consequently, it is most common in the southeast.
- “Pelican,” which was first detected in Oregon in late October. However, it has been found in 12 other states and is the only variant of the seven detected so far abroad, appearing in tests in Australia, Denmark, India and Switzerland.
- “Yellowhammer”, which, like “Robin 2”, is the most common in the southeastern United States. It first appeared in a sample from the end of November.
- “Bluebird”, which first appeared in August and is most common in the Northeast.
- “Quail”, which occurs most frequently in the opposite corners of the US, northeast and southwest. It was first detected in early October.
- “Mockingbird”, first found in late November and spread in the south-central US, as well as along the east coast.
However, the vast majority of positive coronavirus samples are never genetically sequenced, so it is unclear how widespread the variants may be and where they came from.
“I would be quite hesitant to offer a home location for any of these offspring at this time,” Emma Hodcroft, another co-author of the study and an epidemiologist at the University of Bern, told the New York Times.
It is also impossible at this time to say whether the mutations are in fact more virulent – as the available data are insufficient to determine whether they really spread at accelerated speeds or only benefited from infection-friendly conditions, such as a carrier. participating in a superspreader event.
However, other international variants – in particular the UK strain, which has been detected at the state level, including in New York – have been shown to be significantly more infectious than the garden variety coronavirus, complicating efforts to permanently eradicate it. deadly bug.