Scientists are quick to understand why a new strain of coronavirus that emerged in England in September appears to be spreading much faster than previous variants.
The first conclusion, according to British scientists, is that the virus has mutated to change the so-called ear protein on the surface of the virus, increasing the protein’s ability to cling to and enter human cells. These changes allow the mutation, known as N501Y, to spread 70% faster than previous versions of the virus, as early tests suggest.
Neville Sanjana of the New York Genome Center says there is no evidence that the variant has spread to the U.S.
Viruses mutate all the time and coronaviruses less so than some others, such as those that cause the flu. Sometimes these accidental changes alter the attributes of the virus and sometimes not.
Scientists have identified 23 genetic changes in the new variant, an unusually large number, some of which are associated with changes in the proteins made by the virus.
The coronavirus and the world
The ear protein is located at the top of the ears represented in graphic representations of the virus and gives it the crown appearance from which coronaviruses get their name. Spike protein contains amino acids that are used by an enzyme in the body, called furin, to dissolve cell coatings and allow the virus to enter.
Three main issues are now being investigated: 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 that promote vaccines?
The provisional answers to these questions, as the British scientific advisers pointed out on Saturday, are yes, no and no.
Patrick Vallance, the British government’s chief scientific adviser, said on Saturday that three types of study – the genetic composition of the virus, statistics and the laboratory – had come together to show that this variant is significantly more likely to be transmitted between the people you used to strain.
He said the variant first occurred 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. The week that began on December 9 was responsible for 62% of cases in the capital.
BE INFORMED
Get a report on coronavirus six days a week and a weekly health newsletter once the crisis subsides – sign up here.
“It is becoming the dominant variant; is beating 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 chronic infection, possibly due to an immune system. weakness.
Vallance said the findings that the mutation was less dangerous and that they are unlikely to compromise vaccine effectiveness were preliminary. He said there were theoretical reasons why the new variant could alter the immune response, although so far there was no evidence that it was.
“The working hypothesis is that the vaccine response should be appropriate for this virus, but we need to be vigilant about that,” he said.
According to Dr. Sanjana of the New York Genome Center, “individual mutations will generally not alter vaccine performance.”
British officials said they had no evidence that the mutation was present abroad, although scientists say a similar mutation has appeared independently in South Africa.
—Brianna Abbott and Jason Douglas contributed to this article.
Write to Stephen Fidler to [email protected]
Copyright © 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8