Chinese scientists who study the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 disease, have found that the virus has two strains – “L” and “S”. As a result, the fight with him may be much more difficult than initially assumed.
Specialists from the University of Beijing and the Pasteur Institute in Shanghai study the genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which appeared in China in December 2019 and has been infected by over 98 people since then.
Scientists have found that the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has two strains – “L” and “S”. The first strain is easier to spread and is responsible for 70 percent. diseases in the world. The second is milder and less widespread. The scientists described their research in the journal “The Scientist”.
We learn from the article that the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 does not change that much in essential elements. However, based on 103 samples isolated from patients, two strains of the coronavirus can be identified. Although the “S” strain is less frequently recognized, it is recognized as the first – the one that “jumped” from animal to human. The “L” strain was later developed as a derivative of the “S” strain.
Research suggests that strain “L” is more contagious and easier to transmit. The discoveries of Chinese scientists have yet to be confirmed. Many specialists are working on the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus around the world. Preliminary research suggests that the two strains are not significantly different, and this is important news for the development of a vaccine against the coronavirus.
Viruses, especially those that contain an RNA sequence in their genome, mutate easily. Coronavirus that causes COVID-19 also belongs to this type of virus. However, these mutations do not always matter. When developing a vaccine, it is important to know well how the virus attacks cells and the proteins they produce. Experts believe that the differences between the strains are so slight that they should not affect the work on the vaccine.
Scientists need to identify specific components of the coronavirus that do not undergo rapid and significant mutations and are common to both (and possibly subsequent) strains, and focus on them when developing a vaccine.
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