NEW DELHI: The new coronavirus strain that was first found in the UK has caused global unrest because it is thought to be more contagious than other SARS-CoV-2 variants.
Several nations, including India, have announced varying degrees of curbs to prevent the spread of the mutated coronavirus, even as the world is gradually beginning to withdraw from the pandemic through early vaccination campaigns.
However, there is a good chance that the new version of Covid-19 will not be so harmful after all. How?
The new variant – known as B.1.1.7 or VUI-202012/01 – is certainly not the first mutation of SARS-Cov-2, but it is certainly the first “under investigation”.
For registration, there were over 12,000 mutations detected in the first 50,000 genomes of the virus, and so far, scientists have recorded this number more than four times.
To date, there is little evidence to suggest that the new strain of the virus results in a more severe form of Covid-19, although there is sufficient evidence to suggest that it is more transmissible or contagious – and there is probably a blessing in disguise. .
According to Ian Jones, a professor of virology at the University of Reading, UK, “the general rule in virology is that better transmission is associated with milder disease.”
This is not really a new hypothesis – it is actually based on the “declining law of virulence” proposed by the nineteenth-century physician Theobald Smith.
According to Smith, there is a “delicate balance” between a pathogen and a host that allows the virus to evolve into a less lethal strain.
Virologists say that if a virus mutates to become more deadly or lethal, chances are it will kill its host, even before it has a chance to infect others and spread.
Therefore, a mutation could be the pathogen’s response to become more transmissible to become as contagious as possible.
An example of this is the Ebola virus, which spread rapidly but was extremely lethal, resulting in the death of the host and possibly its elimination, as the chance of spreading decreased.
Jones also cited the case of bird flu, which in laboratory experiments showed that when the virus became more transmissible, it “did not kill any of the animals used” – indicating that the virus could be fatal or more infectious, but not both.
However, Jonathan Ball, a professor of virology at the University of Nottingham, advises caution against this type of thinking, which he calls “lazy” – citing examples of both rabies and HIV.
In fact, in the case of HIV, which has killed more than 30 million people globally, mutations can also explain why a vaccine has been found to be elusive.
Ball’s argument is supported by Ravindra Gupta, a Cambridge University virologist who points out that a pathogen is okay to kill the host if it has already spread, which is why “HIV kills the host, but manages to spread both for a long time. ”
And while experts are divided on whether a mutation is more or less likely to be fatal, they agree on one thing – don’t give the virus a chance to evolve and find a set of mutations. advantageous.
Several nations, including India, have announced varying degrees of curbs to prevent the spread of the mutated coronavirus, even as the world is gradually beginning to withdraw from the pandemic through early vaccination campaigns.
However, there is a good chance that the new version of Covid-19 will not be so harmful after all. How?
The new variant – known as B.1.1.7 or VUI-202012/01 – is certainly not the first mutation of SARS-Cov-2, but it is certainly the first “under investigation”.
For registration, there were over 12,000 mutations detected in the first 50,000 genomes of the virus, and so far, scientists have recorded this number more than four times.
To date, there is little evidence to suggest that the new strain of the virus results in a more severe form of Covid-19, although there is sufficient evidence to suggest that it is more transmissible or contagious – and there is probably a blessing in disguise. .
According to Ian Jones, a professor of virology at the University of Reading, UK, “the general rule in virology is that better transmission is associated with milder disease.”
This is not really a new hypothesis – it is actually based on the “declining law of virulence” proposed by the nineteenth-century physician Theobald Smith.
According to Smith, there is a “delicate balance” between a pathogen and a host that allows the virus to evolve into a less lethal strain.
Virologists say that if a virus mutates to become more deadly or lethal, chances are it will kill its host, even before it has a chance to infect others and spread.
Therefore, a mutation could be the pathogen’s response to become more transmissible to become as contagious as possible.
An example of this is the Ebola virus, which spread rapidly but was extremely lethal, resulting in the death of the host and possibly its elimination, as the chance of spreading decreased.
Jones also cited the case of bird flu, which in laboratory experiments showed that when the virus became more transmissible, it “did not kill any of the animals used” – indicating that the virus could be fatal or more infectious, but not both.
However, Jonathan Ball, a professor of virology at the University of Nottingham, advises caution against this type of thinking, which he calls “lazy” – citing examples of both rabies and HIV.
In fact, in the case of HIV, which has killed more than 30 million people globally, mutations can also explain why a vaccine has been found to be elusive.
Ball’s argument is supported by Ravindra Gupta, a Cambridge University virologist who points out that a pathogen is okay to kill the host if it has already spread, which is why “HIV kills the host, but manages to spread both for a long time. ”
And while experts are divided on whether a mutation is more or less likely to be fatal, they agree on one thing – don’t give the virus a chance to evolve and find a set of mutations. advantageous.