(ORDO NEWS) — According to a new study published in the journal Cell, the genetic variation of the new coronavirus that dominates the modern world infects human cells more likely than the original that appeared in China.
Laboratory studies show that this current mutation is more transmitted between people in the real world compared to the previous iteration, but this has not yet been proven.
“I think there is one mutation that actually makes the virus able to replicate better and have a high viral load,” commented Anthony Fauci, chief infectious diseases specialist in the United States, in the journal of the American Medical Association.
“We have no connection with whether a person copes with this worse or not. It seems that the virus reproduces better and may be more transmitted, but this is still at the confirmation stage, ”he added.
Researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and Duke University in North Carolina, in partnership with the COVID-19 Genomics research team from the University of Sheffield, UK, analyzed genome samples published on GISAID, an international resource for sharing genome sequences.
They found that the current version, called “D614G,” makes a small change to the “spiky” protein, on the surface of the virus, which it uses to invade and infect human cells.
“Although new research is still needed to determine if this will have any significant impact on drug or vaccine development, we do not expect the D614G to change, control, or worsen the infection,” said Fauchi.
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