Key Highlights
- A new study suggests that one of the coronavirus mutations may have made it more contagious
- Scientists detected the mutation of coronavirus as early as February 2020 and it has circulated in Europe and the Americas
- This is the first analysis of the molecular architecture of SARS-CoV-2 in two infection waves in a major metropolitan region
Scientists in Houston have found new mutations of the novel coronavirus, according to a new study. The study of more than 5,000 genetic sequences of the coronavirus also revealed that one of the mutations could make it more contagious.
However, the study posted Wednesday on the preprint server MedRxiv reported that the new mutations do not seem to make the virus deadlier or impact the clinical outcomes of the disease.
“We have given this virus a lot of chances,” James Musser, one of the authors of the study, was quoted as saying by The Washington Post. “There is a huge population size out there right now.”
David Morens, a virologist at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and who reviewed the study, told The WaPo that it is likely that the virus, as it circulates through the population, has become more transmissable, which may negatively impact the ability to control it.
Morens said while this is only a single study, which is yet to be peer-reviewed, the virus could potentially be responding to the COVID-19 guidelines like mask-wearing, social distancing and washing hands, which he said may have implications for the formulation of the vaccine.
“Although we don’t know yet, it is well within the realm of possibility that this coronavirus, when our population-level immunity gets high enough, this coronavirus will find a way to get around our immunity. If that happened, we’d be in the same situation as with flu. We’ll have to chase the virus and, as it mutates, we’ll have to tinker with our vaccine,” Morens said.
“Our study is the first analysis of the molecular architecture of SARS-CoV-2 in two infection waves in a major metropolitan region,” the study abstract said.
According to the authors of the study, the findings would help them to understand the origin, composition, and trajectory of future infection waves, and the potential effect of the host immune response and therapeutic maneuvers on SARS-CoV-2 evolution.
Worldwide, the novel coronavirus has so far claimed at least 971,677 lives, whereas, as many as 31.6 million cases of COVID-19 have been registered. Till date, no vaccine has been approved yet for widespread use against COVID-19.