Like other viruses, SARS-CoV-2 mutates during a pandemic. What does this lead to and is it worth fearing a worsening of the situation? The expert says.
Scientific director of the network of clinics for immunorehabilitation and preventive medicine Grand Clinic
Stages of development
Each virus has its own genome – a specific sequence of DNA or RNA. When transferring from one host to another, it changes slightly, so as a result of failures during copying, a new branch appears. The strain retains the basic characteristics of the original variant, while acquiring new properties. For example, the ability to be transmitted from animals to humans, spread faster, survive in different conditions, or cause new complications. Since the genome has already been altered, the immune system does not recognize the infection, treating it as new. That is why re-infection is possible.
In all its diversity
The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes an infectious disease, mutates rather slowly. Since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 100 strains have been identified in Russia, but not all of them have been able to gain a foothold. Some have lost their ability to cause disease over time. Most often, those infected in our country have European and Asian strains. The latter has nothing to do with what was revealed in China.
Evolution law
Coronavirus appeared quite recently, therefore, both the infection and the person undergo an adaptation process when they adapt to each other. As a rule, new viruses act very aggressively in order to multiply as soon as possible. But their chances of survival largely depend on the host’s immunity. In the process of mutation, only those remain that can easily enter the body without destroying it. This is associated with an increasing number of asymptomatic patients. But it is still too early to draw definite conclusions. To understand whether one strain can be more dangerous than another, scientists study each new change in the genome. The research can take several years.
With one blow
The question of whether one vaccine can protect against several types of coronavirus is still open. Almost all medications that scientists are currently developing are modeled on the very first strain. It appeared at the beginning of the pandemic. But judging by the fact that the differences in the genome of viruses circulating now are minimal, experts still do not exclude such a possibility. We also need government programs to normalize the VD-status (the level of vitamin D in the blood), zinc subsidies among the population during a pandemic.
Viruses and bacteria are one of the most common forms of life on Earth. Humanity has faced dangerous epidemics more than once. The only infectious disease that has been conquered is smallpox. Deaths from cholera, poliomyelitis and measles have dropped significantly thanks to the invention of vaccines.