04/05/2021 20:23
Clarín.com
World
Updated 04/05/2021 20:23
While the state of alarm over
the Manos de Brasil strain
grows in Latin America
, scientists from
Stanford University
(California, United States) identified in that area a case of the new
"double mutant"
variant
of the coronavirus, found for the first time in India.
Researchers at
the Stanford Clinical Virology Laboratory
detected the presence of this strain in an infected person last week, which after appearing
in India
in
March
is spreading rapidly.
To date,
there was no evidence
that this variant had reached the
United States.
A human cell (green) infected by SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (yellow), in false color.
Photo: Handout / AFP
"This variant has the L452R mutation that we also found in the
Californian strain
, as well as another significant mutation, E484Q,"
Stanford Health Care
spokeswoman
Lisa Kim
told the Efe agency
.
In addition to the confirmed case, researchers are following seven other people who are suspected of
having been infected with this strain as well.
Why "double mutant"?
The variant has been dubbed a "double mutant" because it has undergone two mutations
that allow it to more easily couple to cells.
At the moment it
is unknown if it is more infectious than other strains
or if it has greater resistance to antibodies in vaccines.
At the end of March, the Indian Consortium on SARS-CoV-2 Genomics (Insacog) - a grouping of ten national laboratories formed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare - had confirmed that this new mutation was detected mainly
in the western state of Maharashtra
after several tests on the sequencing of the virus genome.
"Analysis of samples from Maharashtra has revealed that, compared to December 2020, there has been an increase in the fraction of samples with the E484Q and L452R mutations," the report explained, adding that
"these mutations have been found in approximately 15-20 percent of the samples
and they do not coincide with any previously cataloged VOC. "
According to the independent tally by Johns Hopkins University,
30 million people have been infected with coronavirus in the United States
since the pandemic began
.
and more than 555,000 have lost their lives.
EFE
Look also
Dramatic Covid-19: 40,000 children were orphaned in the United States
Coronavirus variants threaten to lengthen the pandemic