Six strains of SARS-CoV-2 have been identified in the country, but the most common and contagious is the D614G mutation. Doctor Carlos Ortega advises the population to take biosecurity measures to minimize the impact of a variant of the virus.
How concerned should the new variant of SARS-COV-2 be? What does it mean that the virus is changing?
The first thing the virus expert, Dr. Carlos Ortega, cautions, is that the variant of the virus identified in the UK is more contagious, but less deadly, and is still under study.
He adds that the SARS-COV-2 variant was discovered six months ago; the first was in Brazil in April; in the United States in June and Austria in July.
“That was discovered a long time ago, but it has generated no impact in those countries (…) It is likely that it does not consist of a mutation but rather of other mutations; and this may have another characteristic, ”explains Ortega, professor of communicable diseases in the department of microbiology and head of the virology section of the University of El Salvador’s Faculty of Medicine.
SARS-Cov-2 mutates more slowly than the influenza virus
The mutation rate of SARS-CoV-2 is significantly lower than that of influenza.
Mutation is a change or variation of the virus each time it replicates.
SARS-CoV-2 tends to slightly correct the errors it makes when replicating.
The influenza virus, on the other hand, does not make any corrections to its viral genome.
Hence, it is said that SARS-CoV-2 does not mutate at the rate of the flu virus.
SARS-CoV-2 mutates more slowly and would therefore be more stable. “If it mutated at the rate of flu … It is likely that (the virus) would have already disappeared or mutated into a highly virulent variant; it is more stable and that somehow makes it more likely that a vaccine will be more effective against SARS-CoV-2 than against the flu virus, ”said Carlos Ortega.
The expert warns that it is important that measures are taken because the variant from the United Kingdom is not distributed in the country; here if they identified the current circulation of six SARS-CoV2 strains, thanks to the university team’s molecular surveillance.
“One of the mutations that was found (in El Salvador), and that gave a lot to talk about, was the D614G, which has prevailed in many countries.”
In January, the UES Microbiology Department will conduct another study to identify the variants of COVID-19 in circulation.
“Molecular surveillance is done at university. We will be doing another batch in January and we hope there is none (the UK variant), but if detected in time there will be more evidence of what the behavior of this will be by then. You have to try to keep that pace of work, ”said Dr. Ortega.
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In countries such as Costa Rica, the United States and Europe, the installed technical capacity and the economic resources they possess enable them to conduct a weekly sequence study (to identify COVID-19 variants).
The UES tries to conduct the survey once a week or monthly.
“Epidemiological surveillance and molecular surveillance are important to be aware of these changes and these mutations that may affect not only SARS-COV-2 but also the influenza virus, and to take the necessary measures well in advance. If you didn’t have all the technology you have today, everything that happened would be more daunting, ” says Ortega, referring to the progress made in a year to learn more about SARS-COV-2 .
Why is the new variant of the virus raising the alarm?
According to the physician expert in viruses, the speculation and the lack of a solid study indicating the behavior of the variant keeps the population anxious.
Ortega reiterates that studies of the British variant indicate that it is more transmissible, but it has not been shown to have greater virulence or a serious impact on the disease.
“Probably more sick people are being observed, since it is more transmissible, there will logically be more infected people and more sick people. Logically, the curve (infections) will grow, ”he explains.
This will increase the number of hospital admissions because the variant of the virus generates more cases.
“At the moment no variation has been found in the characteristics of these patients compared to those with other variants. This is so that the population is calm, that there is no fear that something worse is coming; of course we have to wait for the studies, ”he adds.
Studies on the British variant indicate that it is more adept at binding to the receptor.
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“There are in vitro studies in laboratory animals that show that it is more communicable and contagious. The mutation has occurred in the spike protein, which is what the virus uses to bind to the ACE2 protein (enzymes found in higher concentrations in people with cardiovascular disease or in deteriorating health), ”explains Ortega from.
The expert explains that the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test to detect the virus remains effective despite the virus’s mutations, because it not only detects and analyzes its spike proteins in the virus, but they also target different genes.
The peak protein in the virus you are referring to is the corona that surrounds the virus. And it is in this area where the change or mutation resides.
That spike or crown acts as the key that allows it to attach to human cells and multiply.
“Mutations fall into the spike protein that is the target of some diagnostic tests, thank goodness the diagnostic tests out there don’t just target the target, others target the N gene (…) It is likely that a some change that does affect the diagnostic test, although it can, ”he explains.
Ortega adds that this new variant of the virus also does not affect the effectiveness of the vaccines.
“Firstly, because it is not a new variant and has already been taken into account, the variant has been circulating in the world for more than 6 months,” he emphasizes.
The university professor believes that “the impact that situations like the one in England can have depends on compliance with biosecurity measures, as long as they are met, they are extreme and the population complies with them, in that sense. the impact of any event, such as the one in England, would be minimal ”.
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