Research finds new coronavirus variant may be resistant to antibodies

Scientists at Texas A&M University have identified a variant of the new coronavirus that is potentially resistant to antibodies, the university said in a statement.The strain, BV-1, was found in a person who reported mild symptoms of COVID-19 . laboratory tests showed that “different neutralizing antibodies are ineffective in fighting other variants with the same genetic markers as BV-1,” said the university. “We do not currently know the full significance of this variant, but it has a combination of mutations similar to other internationally notifiable variants of care,” said Global Health Research Complex (GHRC) Chief Virologist Ben Neuman. are associated with rapid spread, severe disease and high resistance to neutralizing antibodies. “” We have not detected any more cases of this variant, “he added.” We have not grown or tested this virus in any way. This announcement is pure based on genetic sequencing performed in the laboratory. ”The genetic makeup of the BV-1 strain is similar to the original variant found in the UK in September More than 30 countries have cases from the UK coronavirus variant within their borders after the new strain hit the newspaper headline just before Christmas and took out.

The UK variant is seemingly more transmissible than the original viral strain, according to research led by the Imperial College of London in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other UK-based educational institutions. a student at Texas A&M. School officials were warned about the positive test after a saliva sample was taken from the student, as part of the school’s testing efforts, indicated a positive coronavirus infection. In light of the discovery, Texas A&M researchers sent their findings to both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta and GISAID, a Munich-based scientific initiative aimed at sharing information about the novel coronavirus with scientists about worldwide. Researchers at Texas A&M plan to delve further into their research to determine if more affected variants are present within the student population, including investigating possible asymptomatic cases of the disease around campus. helps to provide an early warning system for new variants, ”said Neuman. “While we may not yet understand the full significance of BV-1, the variant highlights an ongoing need for rigorous surveillance and genomic testing, including among young adults with no symptoms or only mild symptoms.”