Is the South African version more dangerous than the English? - Walla! health

2021-01-05T06:55:37.004Z

As if one single mutation of the corona virus was not enough for us, now comes another version that worries the health organizations in the world. What do we know about the South African version and is it too early to know what it means following the outbreak of the plague?

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Is the South African version more dangerous than the English?

As if one single mutation of the corona virus was not enough for us, now comes another version that worries the health organizations in the world.

What do we know about the South African version and is it too early to know what it means following the outbreak of the plague?

The British mutation jumps the coefficient of R.
And this is a serious problem

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Viruses are constantly mutating, and variations of SARS-CoV-2 have existed since the onset of the epidemic, but health authorities are particularly interested in two versions: one has been identified in the UK and another in South Africa.

South Africa first announced the discovery of the new version in three South African provinces on December 18, 2020. The UK also revealed two cases of the South African version on December 23, although it also deals with another clear version, first discovered in the UK as early as September.

The UK and South Africa are in the midst of a wave of COVID-19 cases, many of which are related to the versions in question.

There is a growing concern that both versions may be more contagious.

The World Health Organization said on December 31: "Preliminary studies show that the version [in South Africa] is associated with a higher viral load, which may indicate potential for increased transmission."

According to a new study published this week, the British strain of the virus raises the coefficient of infection - the coefficient of R - by 0.4 to 0.7.

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Furthermore, there has also been some discussion that the South African version may affect the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.

To date, there is still no evidence that the vaccines approved so far will not work against the new strains.

However, scientists in the UK have warned that early studies suggest that the South African variation contains certain mutations in the prickly protein of the virus, raising the question as to the effectiveness of the vaccine.

What does this strain mean?

Food distribution in Johannesburg (Photo: Reuters)

The South African version carries a mutation in the spike protein called E484K, which does not exist in the "British strain".

The E484K mutation has been shown to reduce the detection of antibodies in the immune system.

As such, it helps the SARS-CoV-2 virus bypass the immune protection provided by a previous infection or vaccination, "explained Professor Francois Bell, Professor of Computational Systems Biology and Director of the UCL Institute of Genetics at the University of London.

" We do not expect this mutation to suffice. That the South African version will bypass the protection afforded by current vaccines.

Perhaps new variations affect the efficacy of the vaccine, but we still can not let this assumption about the mutation South African, "explains Professor Bello.

Although real concerns very, scientists have also called for calm and stressed that there is no need to panic or get into unnecessary anxiety before it More Information The best course of action is to wait for additional evidence to appear and follow the instructions given by the Ministries of Health.