New Corona Virus Mutations Do Not Increase Transmission

JAKARTA – A giant study of more than 12,000 mutations in the new corona virus found none that made a big difference in how easily it infected people. The mutations found in more than 46,000 samples taken from 99 different countries, all appear to be neutral, a team of leading viral geneticists reports in the journal Nature Communications.

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“We found that there wasn’t mutation Repeated SARS-CoV-2 tested was associated with a significant increase in viral transmission, “said Francois Balloux, Lucy van Dorp and colleagues from University College London. CNN, Saturday (28/11).

Researchers have even found a much-discussed mutation that is widely believed researchers has made the virus easier to transmit, apparently not affecting its ability to infect humans. The mutation called D614G actually didn’t have much effect.

“Here we find that opposite D614G was not associated with a significant increase in viral transmission. However, what cannot be denied is that D614G appeared early in the pandemic and is now being found at high frequency globally, “the researchers wrote.

However, once people start getting vaccinated, that changes things. That will exert what’s known as selective pressure on the virus and will likely start mutating. All viruses mutate, and RNA viruses, the group that includes coronaviruses, mutate more than others.

They can change due to simple copy errors as the virus replicates. The new coronaviruses do this less frequently than other RNA viruses because they have a built-in proofreader. Another way the virus can change is when two different strains infect a host at the same time. Influenza famous for this.

Additionally, infected people may cause the virus to mutate with what is known as host RNA editing – part of the immune response. Most of the mutations so far have come from this third mechanism. They seem neutral or don’t hurt the virus and don’t help it either.

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“Mutations that are highly destructive, such as those that prevent viral host invasion, are rapidly cleared from the population; mutations that are only mildly destructive can be sustained, if only temporarily. Conversely, neutral and especially beneficial mutations can attain a higher frequency,” the team wrote. Balloux.

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