World Health Organization (WHO) chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan on Friday raised concerns about the virus spread in South Africa.
“Preliminary tests have shown that monoclonal antibodies that were effective against SARS-CoV2 are less effective against South African variants,” said Dr Swaminathan.
A new strain of coronavirus is driving a second wave of disease in South Africa. The variant has spread to other countries in Africa and Europe and concerns have been raised about its treatment of Covid-19 vaccines. South Africa named the variant 501Y.V2 because of the N501Y mutation they found in the spike protein that the virus uses to enter cells inside the body. This change was also found in the new snort the UK notified to WHO in December – which is estimated to have been circulating since September.
Experts believe that the UK variant is unlikely to affect the effectiveness of the vaccines currently being dispensed but there is uncertainty about the alternative variant in South Africa. “The mutations in the spike protein are making this difference from South Africa a cause for concern because it is so vulnerable to some antibodies,” a new study published in a source- bioRxiv preprint data.
Dr Swaminathan said the serum of people who received the Covid vaccine is now being tested in laboratories in the UK and South Africa to see if it can neutralize South African snoring. . “WHO is bringing together virologists and laboratory experts, our virus evolution working group and vaccine developers on January 12 to explain important research questions related to viral changes,” said Dr Swaminathan.
India on Friday reported a total of 82 people with a new mutant strain in the UK and there are currently no reports of a South African mutant. According to Dr. Swaminathan, all viruses are circulating and different changes are going to occur especially when there is more spread in the population.
“Genomic analysis is a great way to monitor virus evolution and, together with clinical and epidemiologic data, can provide countries with information on the spread of the virus and its impact on the virus. control measures, medication and vaccines, ”said Dr Swaminathan.
Global scientific collaboration and public genomic order databases such as GISAID have allowed WHO and partners to monitor the virus from the outset. According to the lead scientist, in the next few weeks, more data from experiments will tell us whether these mutations will have any effect on the efficacy of monoclonal vaccines and antibodies.
At the same time, Dr. Swaminathan praised the country’s focus on vaccination and public protection against Covid-19. “We cannot accept herd protection in India and the results of ICMR zero testing will provide up-to-date information on total antibody frequency. While there are some pockets in high-density urban areas where we can say herd protection, this may not be true for the country as a whole. But we need to be careful for some time, that vaccination can significantly increase the level of population immunity and transmission in the community, ”she said.
Until then, the public and social health measures identified to reduce referrals need to be maintained, she said.