NEW DELHI: The new coronavirus strain first found in the UK has caused a great deal of worldwide uproar, as it is believed 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 begins to progressively fight the pandemic with early vaccination campaigns.
However, there is a good chance that the new variant 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 in SARS-Cov-2, but it is certainly the first to be investigated.
For the record, there were more than 12,000 mutations detected in the first 50,000 genomes of the virus, and as of now, scientists have recorded more than four times that number.
To date, there has been 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 more contagious, and that there is likely to be 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 diseases.”
This is not really a new hypothesis, but is based on the “law of declining virulence” introduced by 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, it is likely to end up killing 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 in order to be as contagious as possible.
A case in point: the Ebola virus that spread quickly, but was very lethal, which caused the death of the host and its eventual disappearance as the chance of spread decreased.
Jones also cited the example 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 lethal 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 describes as “lazy”, citing examples of both the rabies virus and HIV.
In fact, in the case of HIV, which has killed more than 30 million people worldwide, the mutations may also explain why a vaccine has been difficult to use.
Ball’s argument is supported by Ravindra Gupta, a virologist at Cambridge University, who points out that a pathogen is fine with killing the host if it has already spread, which is why “HIV kills the host, but it is still so widespread. ” ”
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 advantageous mutations.
Several nations, including India, have announced varying degrees of curbs to prevent the spread of the mutated coronavirus, even as the world begins to progressively fight the pandemic with early vaccination campaigns.
However, there is a good chance that the new variant 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 in SARS-Cov-2, but it is certainly the first to be investigated.
For the record, there were more than 12,000 mutations detected in the first 50,000 genomes of the virus, and as of now, scientists have recorded more than four times that number.
To date, there has been 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 more contagious, and that there is likely to be 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 diseases.”
This is not really a new hypothesis, but is based on the “law of declining virulence” introduced by 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, it is likely to end up killing 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 in order to be as contagious as possible.
A case in point: the Ebola virus that spread quickly, but was very lethal, which caused the death of the host and its eventual disappearance as the chance of spread decreased.
Jones also cited the example 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 lethal 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 describes as “lazy”, citing examples of both the rabies virus and HIV.
In fact, in the case of HIV, which has killed more than 30 million people worldwide, the mutations may also explain why a vaccine has been difficult to use.
Ball’s argument is supported by Ravindra Gupta, a virologist at Cambridge University, who points out that a pathogen is fine with killing the host if it has already spread, which is why “HIV kills the host, but it is still so widespread. ” ”
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 advantageous mutations.