Double mutant: How dangerous is the new strain of corona virus in India?

 

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A new strain of corona virus, a double mutant, has been discovered in samples obtained in India. It combines two different types of viruses to form the same virus. Scientists are trying to determine if the strain is more dangerous or if the vaccine is less effective.

But what is this 'double mutant' type?

Like any other type of virus, the corona virus changes its form from person to person.

The large number of changes in shape is insignificant and does not affect the behavior of the virus.

But sometimes it causes a change in the protein form of the virus that allows it to enter human cells. Therefore, these types of viruses are more dangerous and can spread easily. These strains cause more deadly diseases or are not vaccinated.

Vaccines protect us from respiratory diseases, such as SARS-CO2, a virus that spreads COD-19. The vaccine builds up immunity in our body and the antibodies to the virus are released.

The best type of vaccine is one that contains 'antibodies that neutralize' the virus because it does not allow the virus to enter human cells.

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The Indian government has said that a review of samples taken from the western state of Maharashtra showed an increase in the E484Q and L452R strains of the virus compared to December last year.

The Ministry of Health said in a statement that "such (double) mutations escape the human body's immune system and spread more disease."

Dr. Jeremy Kamil, a virologist at Louisiana State University Center for Health Sciences, Shrivaport, says the E484Q and E484K are identical types. The E484K has also been found in South Africa and Brazil and is a type that has appeared several times independently.

In one type of virus, if its form changes over and over again in the same way, the virus is more likely to work differently and is then considered a 'critical type'.

The L452R type has also been observed in double mutants in India. For the first time, it got attention because of its relationship with the United States and it was called 'California type'.

Are such viruses rare?

According to Dr. Kamil, this is not unusual. He recently conducted a study that looked at seven strains of the novel coronavirus in the United States.

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"It's very common now that you see many different types of viruses at the same time," he says. This is possible even if we only consider the genetic aspects.

According to him, at the beginning of the global epidemic, there was only one type of gene that was more prevalent, D614G. This form is now more widespread. "Now we look at more types."

In fact, an open-sharing database, GISAID, lists 43 viruses whose E484Q and L452R types are found in India.

Dr Kamil says there are four strains of the virus collected from the UK in March that are widespread. "There are so many types it's hard to say. Are we confident that there are only two forms of the Indian type that are more widespread?

After Indian scientists recorded data on GISAIDs, scientists around the world will be able to know whether the 'double mutant' is the same type that has been observed in the UK or has appeared independently. Similar strains were created by combining I174 N / T, E484K and N501Y from Brazil and South Africa.

Should we worry about the new type?

By changing the genetic makeup of the virus, it can make people sick more easily and avoid antibodies.

This means that if the virus changes its form properly, it can re-infect people infected with code 19.

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But scientists believe that people who have once recovered from the corona or have been vaccinated, if they are re-infected with a new type of code 19, show fewer symptoms and the severity of the disease is so high. Does not happen

Dr Kamil says the spread of the virus in this way could affect herd immunity (immunizations in most parts of the population due to the use of vaccines or the spread of the disease).

It can seriously affect people who are at greater risk because the virus can pass through the population and reach them.

He says that in India, double mutants are less likely to be more dangerous than other types of viruses, but more information can tell for sure.

Was this the cause of the second wave in India?

A total of 47,262 new victims and 275 deaths were confirmed in India on Wednesday. This is the largest number of daily victims this year.

Dr Rakesh Mishra, director of the Hyderabad-based Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology, said 20 per cent of victims in Maharashtra had been diagnosed with the 'double mutant' type and the virus had spread rapidly in the state.

"There are suspicions that this was the cause of the second wave of the virus in India," he said. I would say it is not. This type was not seen in 80% of the samples. Thousands of samples were taken in Maharashtra but this type was found in only 230 cases.

Of greater concern is the British or Kent type, which has spread to more than 50 countries, including the United Kingdom. In 10787 samples in India This type has been found in 736.

According to Dr. Kamil, it is possible that this type may have played a role in making the second wave more difficult. According to various studies, this type is 50% faster moving and 60% more dangerous. The virus has caused 1.6 deaths compared to the previous one.

"It's more likely that the second wave will be dominated by human behavior," says Dr. Kamil.