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New strain of corona virus: Ways to contain

Published : Wednesday, 17 March, 2021 at 12:00 AM  Count : 734
ZUBAIR KHALED HUQ
Researchers are tracking virus variants since some of them might be more deadly than the original virus, they may be more easily transmissible and can have repercussions on the effectiveness of vaccines. Evolution helps organisms to change in response to certain changes in the environment. The goal here is to help the organism adapt so it can survive. Since viruses can only replicate within a host cell, their evolution is influenced by their hosts. This means that the virus will mutate to evade the defences that its hosts put up for it. As compared to DNA viruses, RNA viruses SARS-CoV-2 have much higher mutation rates, probably one mutation per genome copy. Mutations might be deleterious, neutral and occasionally, they may be favourable.  

Once a virus has entered the body of its host, to infect the host it starts replicating, which means making copies of its entire genetic sequence. This change is called a mutation and if it is a favourable mutation, it can give the virus a new ability that promotes its reproduction, which helps the virus to become more widespread over generations. It is likely that such kinds of favourable mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 the virus causes rise in variants.

For instance, the UK variant is known to be about 25-40 per cent more infectious than the original virus. To be more effective for any vaccine, resources should be spent on developing 'pan-virus vaccines' that can provide immunisation against multiple strains of a virus. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, keeps changing, generating new and more transmissible versions as the world scrambles to stay ahead of a pandemic that has killed millions of people so far.    

The more a virus mutates the less effective a vaccine becomes. In the worst-case, the virus replicates to such an extent the vaccine is not adequate to help the body. The good news is that some vaccines, such as those by Pfizer and Moderna, use mRNA technology, which allows for reconfiguring a vaccine to transmit different genetic instructions more easily. Variants are mutations of a virus. All viruses mutate when they copy themselves to spread and thrive. Most mutations are insignificant, some can actually harm the virus, and others can produce a variant that will make it more transmittable.    

A virus spreads inside the body by attaching a cell, then entering it. They then make copies of their RNA, which helps them proliferate. If there is a copying mistake, the RNA gets changed and that is what scientists call a mutation. All manufacturers, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Oxford-AstraZeneca and others are looking at how they can improve their vaccine to make sure that they are ready for any variant, there are about 4,000 variants around the world of COVID.

One of the aims of working towards herd immunity is to keep vulnerable groups who cannot get vaccinated (e.g. due to health conditions like allergic reactions to the vaccine) safe and protected from the disease. A vaccine takes time to give immunity, again if at least seventy per cent people are not immunized within the shortest possible time the concept of herd immunity will not be reality.

Compared to other countries we have acquired already more than needed. We should ensure all get the vaccine in time. It will be judicious to find clusters where people are reluctant to get the vaccine. Media and health care authorities must chalk out a plan and come with forward looking ideas to vaccinate all in quick time. If we assume for the sake of argument, that the vaccine does not give full immunity, it is bound to give some sort of protection, by doing well than bad.

Even we are not capable to see the antibody level, one thing is for sure, the disease transmission can be reduced drastically. We have a false sense of assurance, we are thinking we have taken vaccine so we are free to roam and interact socially without a mask or maintaining any sort of social distancing. That has proved fatal; we are seeing the rate of new cases rising. The new strain from England seems to infect children more.
However, all these vaccines, through their interaction with the immune system, are expected to reduce infection (virus replication) and hence virus transmission at some level. Oxford/AstraZeneca,Novavax and Moderna have all reported that their vaccines reduce virus transmission. In a nutshell, while the current COVID-19 vaccines provide immunity to the disease, their impact on the transmission of the virus has yet to be fully determined.

People are joining various social functions together with their kids without wearing masks and properly maintaining health hygiene and social distancing rules. That's why children alongside adults are being infected with the coronavirus. The guardians must remain careful about taking their children to crowded places and social functions. They should also strictly maintain health safety rules and encourage children to wear masks and wash their hands with soap after touching any substances.

Currently, the RT-PCR tests are doing the two-gene diagnosis. This system may not detect all the mutations of coronavirus. The chances that the new strain can be detected in the existing system are slight. It is being discussed whether to change the RT-PCR testing. We should arrange the facilities to do three-gene tests. Besides, genome sequencing of at least five out of every 100 samples should be done. A coronavirus variant called B1525 has become one of the most recent additions to the global variant watch list and has been included in the list of variants under investigation by Public Health England.   

Scientists are keeping a watchful eye on this variant because it has several mutations in the gene that makes the spike protein latches onto human cells. These changes include the presence of the increasingly well-known mutation called E484K, which allows the virus to partly evade the immune system, and is found in the variants first identified in South Africa (B1351) and Brazil. The rapidly spreading variants renew the spread through which can be suppressed by maintaining public health measures: wearing masks, socially distancing and practising hand hygiene 13-03-21.
Dr Zubair Khaled Huq, Family Medicine, Gerontology, Public Health Specialist






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