Scientists are in a hurry to understand why a new strain of coronavirus that appeared in England in September seems to be spreading much faster than previous versions.
The early conclusion, according to British scientists, is that the virus has moved to change the so-called protein spike on the surface of the virus, increasing the protein’s ability to cling and enter human cells. These changes allow the mutation, known as N501Y, to spread 70% faster than previous versions of the virus, the early analysis suggests.
Neville Sanjana of the New York Genome Center says there is no evidence to suggest that the variant has spread to the United States
Viruses move all the time and coronaviruses less than others, such as those that cause the flu. Sometimes these accidental changes change the attributes of the virus and sometimes not.
Scientists have identified 23 genetic changes to the new variant, an unusually large number, some of which are associated with changes in the proteins that the virus makes.
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The spike protein is located at the top of the peaks represented on graphical representations of the virus and gives it the crown-like appearance from which the coronaviruses take their name. The spike protein contains amino acids that an enzyme in the body, called furin, uses to dissolve cellular coatings and allow the virus to enter.
Three main questions are being asked: Is the new variant more contagious, more likely to be fatal or cause serious illness, and more likely to defeat the body’s immune responses, including those encouraged by vaccines?
The provisional answers to these questions, as pointed out by British scientific advisers on Saturday, are yes, no and no.
Patrick Vallance, the British government’s chief scientific adviser, said on Saturday that three types of studies – about the genetic structure of the virus, statistics and in the laboratory – had come together to show that this variant is more likely to be transmitted to humans. than before. strains.
He said the variant first appeared in September, either in London – where it was identified on September 21 – or in nearby Kent County, where it was found on September 20. By mid-November, 28% of cases in London were attributable to the new variant. In the week beginning December 9, he was responsible for 62% of cases in the capital.
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“It becomes the dominant variant; he beats everyone else in terms of transmission, “he told a news conference on Saturday.
A preliminary description of the variant, published online by scientists associated with a British effort to track genetic variations in the virus, suggested that the new strain could have developed in someone suffering from a chronic infection, possibly due to a weakened immune system. .
Mr Vallance said the findings that the mutation was less dangerous and unlikely to compromise the effectiveness of vaccines were preliminary. He said there were theoretical reasons why the new variant could alter the immune response, although there is no evidence so far.
“The working assumption is that the response to the vaccine should be appropriate for this virus, but we need to be careful about that,” he said.
According to Dr. Sanjana of the New York Genome Center, “unique mutations will not generally change the performance of the vaccine.”
British officials say they have no evidence that the mutation is present abroad, although scientists say a similar mutation has occurred independently in South Africa.
—Brianna Abbott and Jason Douglas contributed to this article.
Write to Stephen Fidler at [email protected]
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