|
 In a study using a global dataset of virus genomes from 46,723
people with COVID-19 from 99 countries, researchers identified more
than 12,700 mutations, or changes, in the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
"Fortunately, we found that none of these mutations are making
COVID-19 spread more rapidly," said Lucy van Dorp, a professor at
University College London's Genetics Institute and one of the
co-lead researchers on the study.
She added, however: "We need to remain vigilant and continue
monitoring new mutations, particularly as vaccines get rolled out."
Viruses are known to mutate all the time, and some - such as flu
viruses - change more frequently than others.
Most mutations are neutral, but some can be either advantageous or
detrimental to the virus, and some can make vaccines against them
less effective. When viruses change like this, vaccines against them
have to be adapted regularly to ensure they are hitting the right
target.
With the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the first vaccines to show efficacy
against the disease it causes could get regulatory approval and
begin to be used to immunise people before the end of the year.
Francois Balloux, a UCL professor who also worked on the study, said
that its findings, for now, posed no threat to COVID-19 vaccine
efficacy, but cautioned that the imminent introduction of vaccines
could exert new selective pressures on the virus to mutate to try to
evade the human immune system.
[to top of second column] |
"The news on the vaccine front looks great," he said. "The virus may well
acquire vaccine-escape mutations in the future, but we're confident we'll be
able to flag them up promptly, which would allow updating the vaccines in time
if required.".
The mutation study, preliminary findings of which were originally made public in
May as a pre-print before being reviewed by other scientists, was published in
full on Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications.
The research team from Britain's UCL and Oxford University, and from France's
Cirad and Université de la Réunion, analysed virus genomes from 46,723 people
with COVID-19 from 99 countries, collected up until the end of July 2020.
Among more than 12,706 mutations identified, some 398 appeared to have occurred
repeatedly and independently, the researchers said.
Of those, the scientists focused in on 185 mutations which they found had
occurred at least three times independently during the course of the pandemic.
The researchers found no evidence that any of the common mutations are
increasing the virus's transmissibility. Instead, they said, most common
mutations are neutral for the virus.
(Reporting by Kate Kelland, editing by Nick Macfie)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
