The article has been automatically translated into English by Google Translate from Russian and has not been edited.
Переклад цього матеріалу українською мовою з російської було автоматично здійснено сервісом Google Translate, без подальшого редагування тексту.
Bu məqalə Google Translate servisi vasitəsi ilə avtomatik olaraq rus dilindən azərbaycan dilinə tərcümə olunmuşdur. Bundan sonra mətn redaktə edilməmişdir.

A new variant of the coronavirus has been identified in New York: it knows how to 'hide' from antibodies

'25.02.2021'

Lyudmila Balabay

Subscribe to ForumDaily NewYork on Google News

Two separate groups of researchers announced this week the emergence of a new variant of the coronavirus. It is common in New York and several other locations in the northeastern United States. This mutation worried scientists because, according to research, it helps the virus to escape from the body's natural immune response and makes it immune to treatment with monoclonal antibodies. Details told the publication CNN.

Genomics researchers have named this variant of the B.1.526 virus. According to them, it was identified in people in various areas of New York and the northeastern United States. One of the mutations in this variant of the virus is similar to the one first found in South Africa (B.1.351). This mutation also helps the coronavirus to evade the body's response to vaccination to some extent, at least with the currently approved drugs.

“From late December to mid-February, we saw a steady increase in the detection rate in those infected with this mutation. Over the past two weeks, the number of people infected with this variant of the virus has grown by 12,7%, "- said in a study by the team at Columbia University Medical Center.

On the subject: How COVID-19 is Treated: List of Approved and Promising Drugs

This is the last variant of the coronavirus identified so far. Before that, mutation variants discovered in Britain and South Africa made a lot of noise.

“This is a variant of the virus grown here, presumably in New York,” said Dr. David Ho, who led the research team.

Virus mutations and variants

Viruses mutate constantly. The more people are infected and the longer they are infected, the more likely the virus is to change. Different variants of the virus may be present in the body of one patient during infection. Most mutations quickly appear and quickly disappear, ending their existence on one or more infected.

But sometimes a mutation or a set of mutations is fixed and passed from one patient to another. As viruses with these patterns become more common, the set of mutations is referred to as a variant of the virus. Such options appear quite often, but if they confer disturbing properties on the virus, such as higher infectivity or the ability to evade treatments and vaccines, doctors become worried.

Why the New York variant of the virus is dangerous

In the New York variant of the virus, the mutation that worries researchers the most is called E484K. It gives the virus the ability to overcome some of the body's immune responses, as well as counteract the treatment with monoclonal antibodies. This mutation emerged independently in many different cases, but it was precisely in the B.1.526 variant found in New York.

“It is this alarming new variant that has been increasingly circulating among our patients in the past few weeks,” the Columbia University team wrote.

On the subject: A nurse from New York told why she does not want to be vaccinated against COVID-19

Scientists fear that this strain of the virus will overwhelm all other variants in the city, which could significantly complicate treatment and jeopardize the effectiveness of vaccinations.

The E484K mutation has been observed in at least 59 different variants of the coronavirus, which means it develops independently, scientists said. This phenomenon is called convergent evolution and can give the virus an advantage, thereby making it less vulnerable to drugs and the human immune response.

"All we know about this key mutation is that it somehow escapes the influence of antibodies," Ho concluded.

Subscribe to ForumDaily NewYork on Google News
WP2Social Auto Publish Powered By: XYZScripts.com