NO coronavirus mutations increase it's ability to spread, study finds
4 years, 7 months ago

NO coronavirus mutations increase it's ability to spread, study finds

Daily Mail  

None of the mutations of the novel coronavirus appear to increase its ability to spread from person-to-person, a new study suggests. A new study from University College London looked at 31 mutations of the coronavirus that have spread independently at least 10 times in various cities and countries No strain had a higher risk of transmitting from person-to-person compared to another one. Pictured: A nurse stands with a COVID-19 patient during a Zoom video call in an ICU at Stamford Hospital in Connecticut, April 24 'As a growing number of mutations have been documented, scientists are rapidly trying to find out if any of them could make the virus more infectious or deadly, as it's vital to understand such changes as early as possible,' said lead author Dr Francois Balloux, director of the UCL Genetics Institute. 'We employed a novel technique to determine whether viruses with the new mutation are actually transmitted at a higher rate, and found that none of the candidate mutations appear to be benefiting the virus.' There was no evidence that any of the common mutations increased the virus's ability to spread and, in fact, most were neutral or 'hurt' the virus.

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History of this topic

China’s COVID-19 surge raises odds of new coronavirus mutant
2 years ago

China’s COVID-19 surge raises odds of new coronavirus mutant

LA Times  

Masked commuters walk during the morning rush hour in Beijing on Dec. 20. “When we’ve seen big waves of infection, it’s often followed by new variants being generated,” Ray said. Ray compared the virus to a boxer that “learns to evade the skills that you have and adapt to get around those.” One big unknown is whether a new variant …

New coronavirus mutant raises concerns in India and beyond
2 years, 5 months ago

New coronavirus mutant raises concerns in India and beyond

Hindustan Times  

The quickly changing coronavirus has spawned yet another super contagious omicron mutant that’s worrying scientists as it gains ground in India and pops up in numerous other countries, including the United States. A nurse prepares to administer vaccine for COVID-19 at a private vaccination centre “It’s still really early on for us to draw too many conclusions,” said Matthew Binnicker, …

WHO warns coronavirus is far from settling into endemic situation
2 years, 8 months ago

WHO warns coronavirus is far from settling into endemic situation

Al Jazeera  

WHO official says COVID is still capable of causing huge epidemics. COVID-19 is far from becoming an endemic disease and could still trigger large outbreaks around the globe, the World Health Organization said. “I certainly do not believe we’ve reached anything close to an endemic situation with this virus,” Ryan told a question-and-answer session on the WHO’s social media channels. …

Expect more worrisome variants after Omicron, scientists warn
2 years, 11 months ago

Expect more worrisome variants after Omicron, scientists warn

LA Times  

People wait in line at a COVID-19 testing site in New York City’s Times Square. “It’s the longer, persistent infections that seem to be the most likely breeding grounds for new variants,” said Dr. Stuart Campbell Ray, an infectious disease expert at Johns Hopkins University. For a virus that spreads exponentially, he said, “anything that curbs transmission can have a …

Does our immune system needs to evolve with new, risky variants of coronavirus?
3 years, 1 month ago

Does our immune system needs to evolve with new, risky variants of coronavirus?

Hindustan Times  

The World Health Organisation has designated the Omicron variant of coronavirus as a variant of concern and currently researchers in South Africa and around the world are conducting studies to better understand its many aspects. Does our immune system needs to evolve with new, risky variants of coronavirus? The new strain of coronavirus, Omicron, is now becoming rampant which is …

Infographic: How Omicron compares with other COVID variants
3 years, 1 month ago

Infographic: How Omicron compares with other COVID variants

Al Jazeera  

WHO says preliminary evidence indicates an ‘increased risk of reinfection with Omicron’ compared with other coronavirus variants, but information is limited. Scientists have said that similar mutations seen in other variants have been associated with higher transmission and a higher chance of escaping the body’s immune defences, compared with the original strain of the virus. Preliminary evidence suggests there may …

Coronavirus | Omicron variant puts spotlight back on safety
3 years, 1 month ago

Coronavirus | Omicron variant puts spotlight back on safety

The Hindu  

Omicron, which is the most mutated form of COVID-19 discovered thus far with 32 mutations to the spike protein, has scientists worried that the mutations may now allow it to evade existing vaccines and spread quickly. It’s too early to understand the impact of this new mutation.’’ Vidya P. Taneja, senior consultant, pediatrics, Aartas Clinishare, Delhi, said that the new …

Omicron coronavirus variant raises questions among scientists
3 years, 1 month ago

Omicron coronavirus variant raises questions among scientists

Live Mint  

The fast-spreading Omicron coronavirus variant recently identified in South Africa has virologists and health authorities on edge because of its many mutations, but much about its infectiousness and virulence remains unknown. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that Omicron hadn’t been identified in the U.S. “The U.S. variant surveillance system has reliably detected new variants in this …

Frequent mutations, rapid spread: All about the new coronavirus variant in South Africa
3 years, 1 month ago

Frequent mutations, rapid spread: All about the new coronavirus variant in South Africa

Hindustan Times  

A new coronavirus variant detected in South Africa's most populous Guanteng district has sent governments around the world in a state of high alert – especially in view of the fact that the variant, according to infectious diseases experts, displays a high number of mutations and rapid spread among young people. The new coronavirus variant detected in South Africa, currently …

New wave of coronavirus infections next autumn seems unavoidable, experts say
3 years, 1 month ago

New wave of coronavirus infections next autumn seems unavoidable, experts say

NL Times  

Medical experts told NOS that a spike in coronavirus infections next fall is likely despite an increasing number of people fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Extra measures, such as face masks, to stop the spread of the coronavirus will continue to be part of daily life, the experts said. Yet, the experts said that additional measures to prevent the spread of …

Can new variants of the coronavirus keep emerging?
3 years, 2 months ago

Can new variants of the coronavirus keep emerging?

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Can new variants of the coronavirus keep emerging? But that doesn’t mean new variants will keep emerging as regularly, or that they’ll be more dangerous. With more than half the world still not vaccinated, the virus will likely keep finding people to infect and replicating inside them for several months or years to come. And while it could …

Explainer: New COVID–19 infections cause mutations and are the main driver of new variants, not vaccines
3 years, 3 months ago

Explainer: New COVID–19 infections cause mutations and are the main driver of new variants, not vaccines

Firstpost  

Nearly all mutations that occur are harmless glitches that don’t change how the virus works – some can harm the virus while a small fraction may make the virus more infectious. But how mutations, random chance and natural selection produce variants is a complicated process, and there has been a lot of confusion about how and why new variants emerge. …

What we know about the Delta variant
3 years, 4 months ago

What we know about the Delta variant

China Daily  

The Delta variant of the novel coronavirus is now spreading rapidly around the world. A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States shows the Delta variant is nearly twice as contagious as previous variants. The US CDC said people infected with the Delta variant can remain infectious for 18 days, longer than the …

What we know about the Delta variant?
3 years, 4 months ago

What we know about the Delta variant?

China Daily  

The Delta variant of the novel coronavirus is now spreading rapidly around the world. A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States shows the Delta variant is nearly twice as contagious as previous variants. An individual infected with Delta variant can infect five to nine other people, and it is more likely to …

What we know about the Delta variant?
3 years, 4 months ago

What we know about the Delta variant?

China Daily  

The Delta variant of the novel coronavirus is now spreading rapidly around the world. A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States shows the Delta variant is nearly twice as contagious as previous variants. An individual infected with Delta variant can infect five to nine other people, and it is more likely to …

What we know about the Delta variant?
3 years, 4 months ago

What we know about the Delta variant?

China Daily  

The Delta variant of the novel coronavirus is now spreading rapidly around the world. A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States shows the Delta variant is nearly twice as contagious as previous variants. An individual infected with Delta variant can infect five to nine other people, and it is more likely to …

Lambda variant: All you need to know about fast spreading strain
3 years, 6 months ago

Lambda variant: All you need to know about fast spreading strain

Hindustan Times  

The lambda variant of the coronavirus is emerging as one of leading cases of the spread of the infection. The lambda variant The strain was first identified in Peru in December last year. The lambda variant is usually associated with higher transmissibility and resistance to antibodies, but health experts have said that more data is needed to firmly establish this …

From Alpha, Beta, Gamma to Delta: What we know of coronavirus mutations so far
3 years, 6 months ago

From Alpha, Beta, Gamma to Delta: What we know of coronavirus mutations so far

Live Mint  

Viruses mutate all the time, including the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that’s caused the Covid-19 pandemic. University of Florida researchers found that for the Covid vaccines being rolled out on a global scale, the alpha strain led to “somewhat reduced” efficacy compared with the wild strain, while the beta and gamma variants led to considerably lower efficacy, they said in a paper …

Can people vaccinated against COVID-19 still spread the coronavirus?
3 years, 7 months ago

Can people vaccinated against COVID-19 still spread the coronavirus?

India TV News  

When the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its guidelines about mask-wearing on May 13, 2021, plenty of Americans were left a little confused. Vaccines don’t always prevent infection Researchers had hoped to design safe COVID-19 vaccines that would prevent at least half of the people vaccinated from getting COVID-19 symptoms. Since that’s where SARS-CoV-2 makes its entry, …

No evidence COVID-19 vaccines create new virus variants
3 years, 7 months ago

No evidence COVID-19 vaccines create new virus variants

Associated Press  

CLAIM: The variants of the coronavirus that have been found in the global population were created by COVID-19 vaccines, which made antibodies that forced the virus to evolve. “Bombshell: Nobel Prize Winner Reveals - Covid Vaccine is ‘Creating Variants,’” reads the headline of the article, which has been shared more than 6,000 times on Facebook since May 18. The article …

Coronavirus | India resists ‘community transmission’ tag despite soaring cases
3 years, 7 months ago

Coronavirus | India resists ‘community transmission’ tag despite soaring cases

The Hindu  

Inspite of adding the highest number of cases in the world every day, India continues to label itself as a country with no community transmission, opting instead for the lower, less serious classification called ‘cluster of cases’, according to the latest weekly report by the World Health Organisation on May 11. Instead, the classification, ‘cluster of cases’, that India chooses …

Coronavirus: What are variants of concern?
3 years, 8 months ago

Coronavirus: What are variants of concern?

The Hindu  

If manuscripts are copied by hand repeatedly, spelling errors are common. As the importance of ‘variants of concern’ was appreciated, the Indian SARS CoV-2 Genomic Consortium, a network of ten competent public-sector laboratories for genomic surveillance, was established, and the genetic variant landscape is being surveyed in India. The widely used one is the ‘Phylogenetic Assignment of Global Outbreak Lineages’ …

April 12, 2021 coronavirus news
3 years, 8 months ago

April 12, 2021 coronavirus news

CNN  

Two new studies suggest that the B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant, which was first identified in the United Kingdom, is more transmissible, but the variant does not appear to affect disease severity in someone who gets Covid-19. One of the new studies, published on Monday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, found no evidence in a sample of hospitalized patients that the B.1.1.7 …

Coronavirus | Indian ‘double mutant’ strain named B.1.617
3 years, 9 months ago

Coronavirus | Indian ‘double mutant’ strain named B.1.617

The Hindu  

The ‘double mutant’ virus that scientists had flagged last month as having a bearing on the spread of the pandemic in India, has a formal scientific classification: B.1.617. Other than a place on the coronavirus’s evolutionary history, it also brings focus on the role the variant may be playing in the pandemic, which is now seeing nearly 100,000 fresh infections …

Scientists fear emergence of vaccine-evading Covid mutations within next year
3 years, 9 months ago

Scientists fear emergence of vaccine-evading Covid mutations within next year

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy New coronavirus mutations could emerge within the next year that significantly …

US reports over 10,000 coronavirus variants infections
3 years, 9 months ago

US reports over 10,000 coronavirus variants infections

India TV News  

The US has recorded more than 10,000 infection cases of coronavirus variants as experts warn of another Covid-19 surge. The five coronavirus strains are currently classified by the CDC as "variants of concern," as evidence shows an increase in their transmissibility, increased hospitalizations or deaths, a significant reduction in neutralization by antibodies generated during previous infection or vaccination, reduced effectiveness …

Luck is essential for any successful coronavirus variant, study shows
3 years, 9 months ago

Luck is essential for any successful coronavirus variant, study shows

LA Times  

Let’s say you are a new member of the SARS-CoV-2 family, with a few genetic tweaks that distinguish you from the rest of the clan. A modeling exercise by researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle suggests that for a genetic variant of SARS-CoV-2 to become a menacing new presence, it’s not enough to be scary and …

Coronavirus | India reports unique ‘double mutant’ coronavirus variant
3 years, 9 months ago

Coronavirus | India reports unique ‘double mutant’ coronavirus variant

The Hindu  

A unique “double mutant” coronavirus variant — with a combination of mutations not seen anywhere else in the world — has been found in India, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday. Genome sequencing of a section of virus samples by a consortium of 10 labs across the country, called the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics, revealed the presence of two …

Faster spread of some coronavirus variants could be due to sturdier protein, say scientists
3 years, 9 months ago

Faster spread of some coronavirus variants could be due to sturdier protein, say scientists

India TV News  

The spike protein of the novel coronavirus, which enables it to infect human cells, is more stable in faster spreading versions of the virus, such as the ones first reported in the UK and South Africa, compared to the original form of the pathogen from Wuhan, China, says a new study. The results, published in the journal Science, showed that …

Coronavirus jumped from bats to humans with 'very little change', say scientists
3 years, 9 months ago

Coronavirus jumped from bats to humans with 'very little change', say scientists

India Today  

The progenitor of the novel coronavirus underwent "very little change" to adapt to humans from bats, according to a new study which suggests that the ability of the virus to spread from one person to another likely evolved in the flying mammal prior to it jumping to its new human host. "Usually viruses that jump to a new host species …

Why easing COVID-19 restrictions too soon could be a boon for coronavirus variants
3 years, 9 months ago

Why easing COVID-19 restrictions too soon could be a boon for coronavirus variants

LA Times  

Pam Nestande shops at Hemline Austin on Wednesday, the day Texas lifted its COVID-19 mask mandate. So while we’re vaccinating people, we want to make sure there’s less and less virus circulating that doesn’t put our vaccine efficacy at risk.” March and April “are critical periods here,” Walensky added. “This finding underscores the need to limit subsequent waves of infection …

Worried About Coronavirus Variants? Here's What You Need To Know
3 years, 10 months ago

Worried About Coronavirus Variants? Here's What You Need To Know

NPR  

Worried About Coronavirus Variants? Here's What You Need To Know Enlarge this image toggle caption Juan Gaertner/Science Source Juan Gaertner/Science Source Concern about new coronavirus variants has grown quickly in recent months. "It's infected millions of humans around the world now, and it's probably just getting into a more intimate relationship with our species," says Jeremy Kamil of Louisiana State …

Mutant coronavirus variants are a growing threat. Vaccinations, mask wearing are essential
3 years, 10 months ago

Mutant coronavirus variants are a growing threat. Vaccinations, mask wearing are essential

LA Times  

While emerging coronavirus variants remain a threat, health experts said they are hopeful that rising vaccination rates and continued wearing of masks can blunt the potential for a new wave. McDonald said that even if the California strain “is a little more contagious than the other ones that are circulating in the community, the take-home message is the same: that …

New York’s new coronavirus variant is worrying researchers
3 years, 10 months ago

New York’s new coronavirus variant is worrying researchers

CNN  

CNN — Two separate teams of researchers saidthis week they have found a worrying new coronavirus variant in New York City and elsewhere in the Northeast that carries mutations that help it evade the body’s natural immune response – as well as the effects of monoclonal antibody treatments. It appears in people affected in diverse neighborhoods of New York City, …

Over 7k coronavirus mutations in India, many have serious risks: Scientist
3 years, 10 months ago

Over 7k coronavirus mutations in India, many have serious risks: Scientist

India TV News  

There are more than 7,000 coronavirus mutations in India of which some could pose a serious risk, a senior scientist said on Monday. The CCMB alone has done an exhaustive analysis of over 5,000 coronavirus variants in India and how they have evolved over the course of the pandemic.\ A team of the CCMB scientists also published a paper on …

California’s coronavirus strain looks increasingly dangerous: ‘The devil is already here’
3 years, 10 months ago

California’s coronavirus strain looks increasingly dangerous: ‘The devil is already here’

LA Times  

Registered nurses April McFarland, left, and Tiffany Robbins place the body of a COVID-19 victim inside a white bag and zip it closed at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills. In a study that helps explain the state’s dramatic holiday surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths — and portends further trouble ahead — scientists at UC San Francisco …

Covid-19 Variant N440K Spreading 'A Lot More' in Southern States, Reveals Study by Hyd-based Centre
3 years, 10 months ago

Covid-19 Variant N440K Spreading 'A Lot More' in Southern States, Reveals Study by Hyd-based Centre

News 18  

A study by the scientists of Hyderabad-based CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology has said a few novel variants of coronavirus are spreading more in some states in the country and a closer surveillance is needed. A comprehensive analysis of coronavirus variants in the country and their evolution during the pandemic by the scientists presented in a recent publication suggested …

Coronavirus | Challenges in developing, testing vaccines against variants
3 years, 10 months ago

Coronavirus | Challenges in developing, testing vaccines against variants

The Hindu  

With the emergence of three variants — B.1.1.7 first found in Britain, B.1.1.248 first seen in Brazil, and B.1.351 first detected in South Africa — less than two months after the first COVID-19 vaccine was approved for emergency use by the U.S. FDA, all companies have begun making booster shots or tweaking the existing vaccine based on the new variants. …

COVID-19 variant N440K spreading more in southern states: CSIR-CCMB
3 years, 10 months ago

COVID-19 variant N440K spreading more in southern states: CSIR-CCMB

India TV News  

The Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology said there is emerging evidence that coronavirus variant N440K is spreading "a lot more" in southern states in the country. More coronavirus genomes need to be sequenced across the country to accurately identify the emergence of these and other new variants", said Dr. Rakesh Mishra, Director, CCMB and corresponding author on the …

No Foreign Strain of Coronavirus Found in Amravati, Yavatmal and Satara Districts, Says Maha Govt
3 years, 10 months ago

No Foreign Strain of Coronavirus Found in Amravati, Yavatmal and Satara Districts, Says Maha Govt

News 18  

New strains of coronavirus found in the UK, South Africa and Brazil have not been detected in Amravati, Yavatmal and Satara districts of Maharashtra where cases have spiked recently, the state government said on Friday. In view of increase in cases in Western Maharashtra's Pune, Sarata districts and Amravati and Yavatmal in Vidarbha region, genome sequencing of coronavirus samples from …

Spread of mutant Covid variant 'N440k' more prevalent in southern India: Study
3 years, 10 months ago

Spread of mutant Covid variant 'N440k' more prevalent in southern India: Study

India Today  

In what can only be described as an exhaustive analysis, the Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology has released a study of Covid-19 variants. The CSIR-CCMB study asserts that though mutated variants of Covid-19 have set alarm bells ringing in other countries, their prevalence in India has been low so far. More coronavirus genomes need to be sequenced across …

Mutation in spike protein makes coronavirus eight times more infectious, finds NYU study
3 years, 10 months ago

Mutation in spike protein makes coronavirus eight times more infectious, finds NYU study

Firstpost  

Researchers noted that the D614G mutation in the coronavirus spike protein likely emerged in early 2020, and is now the most prevalent and dominant form of the virus in many countries around the world New York: The D614G mutation in the spike protein of the novel coronavirus renders it up to eight times more infectious in human cells than the …

Are coronavirus variants spreading less quickly than feared?
3 years, 10 months ago

Are coronavirus variants spreading less quickly than feared?

Dutch News  

The coronavirus variant identified in Britain is spreading across the Netherlands less fast than was feared, claims the AD. On February 2, caretaker prime minister Mark Rutte said that it was thought the B117 variant represented ‘two thirds of infections in the Netherlands’, while the most recent trials by public health institute the RIVM suggest it has only now reached …

Coronavirus variants: CDC reports warn new strains could lead to rapid rise in coronaivus cases
3 years, 10 months ago

Coronavirus variants: CDC reports warn new strains could lead to rapid rise in coronaivus cases

CNN  

CNN — New coronavirus variants could lead to a rapid rise in Covid-19 cases, and can “dangerously accelerate the trajectory of the pandemic,” US health officials warned Wednesday. “The continued spread of variants that are more transmissible could jeopardize the progress we have made in the last month if we let our guard down.” In a report released Wednesday, researchers …

Batch of homegrown coronavirus mutations seen in US
3 years, 10 months ago

Batch of homegrown coronavirus mutations seen in US

CNN  

CNN — Researchers said Sunday they have identified a batch of similar troubling mutations in coronavirus samples circulating in the United States. “In late January of 2021, our two independent SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance programs, based at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences in Albuquerque, New Mexico and the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, Louisiana, each noticed …

New coronavirus variants are everywhere: Will they drag out the pandemic?
3 years, 10 months ago

New coronavirus variants are everywhere: Will they drag out the pandemic?

LA Times  

Do the new coronavirus variants mean we have to practice social distancing forever? “They tell us that we have to continue to work hard — and maybe harder — to stop the spread of the virus, but that existential angst doesn’t need to exist,” he said. “We will get out of this pandemic.” Though some of the variants are more …

COVID-19 Vaccines Could Add Fuel To Evolution Of Coronavirus Mutations
3 years, 10 months ago

COVID-19 Vaccines Could Add Fuel To Evolution Of Coronavirus Mutations

NPR  

COVID-19 Vaccines Could Add Fuel To Evolution Of Coronavirus Mutations Enlarge this image toggle caption David Ryder/Getty Images David Ryder/Getty Images Mutations in the new coronavirus could reduce the effectiveness of vaccines against it. Fauci also says that a fully vaccinated person is apparently better able to fend off virus variants, so it makes sense to get people the maximum …

Pfizer Vaccine Can Neutralise Coronavirus Variants First Reported in UK, South Africa: Study
3 years, 11 months ago

Pfizer Vaccine Can Neutralise Coronavirus Variants First Reported in UK, South Africa: Study

News 18  

The COVID-19 vaccine co-developed by the American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and the German biotechnology company BioNTech can neutralise variants of the novel coronavirus that were first reported in the UK and South Africa, a new study suggests. They said these mutations in the 501st and 484th positions of the protein's amino acid molecule chain appeared in the UK and the …

Coronavirus | Pfizer vaccine can neutralise variants first reported in U.K., South Africa: study
3 years, 11 months ago

Coronavirus | Pfizer vaccine can neutralise variants first reported in U.K., South Africa: study

The Hindu  

The COVID-19 vaccine co-developed by the American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and the German biotechnology company BioNTech can neutralise variants of the novel coronavirus that were first reported in the U.K. and South Africa, a new study suggests. They said these mutations in the 501st and 484th positions of the protein's amino acid molecule chain appeared in the U.K. and the …

Decoding how coronavirus mutates
3 years, 11 months ago

Decoding how coronavirus mutates

The Hindu  

Scientists have identified a pattern of mutations in the novel coronavirus which enable it to evade the immune system’s antibodies, findings that shed light on how the virus may possibly escape existing vaccines and therapeutics. The study, published in the journal Science, assessed nearly 1,50,000 gene sequences of the spike protein collected from many parts of the world, and found …

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