Following reports of the spread of the new corona virus mutation in the UK, Prof. Yaakov Moran-Gilad, an expert in clinical microbiology and public health from the Ben-Gurion University School of Public Health and a member of the epidemic management team in Israel, spoke today (Sunday). Because while corona virus mutations are relatively commonplace, the new mutation in the UK may be “just the tip of the iceberg”.
“Although it has not yet been conclusively proven that the strain is more contagious,” Moran-Gilad said, “the numbers Johnson presented on Saturday were a projection, based on data showing a recent increase in infection in areas where the mutation was detected.”
“Mutations in viruses are nothing new and are not new in Corona,” he said. He says there are currently more than 1,000 known mutations to the corona virus. Both the new British version and a Danish version that recently led to the elimination of miners in the country, have made changes in the protein of the virus. Despite these things, Moran-Gilad clarified that there is no way to determine whether there is a connection between the cases.
“Protein-related mutations can affect the dynamics of the disease, as it is a crucial factor in the infection process. For example, the mutation may affect the way the virus binds to cells in the respiratory system,” said Moran-Gilad. in the UK. “This is what doctors in England are currently most concerned about. It has not yet been proven, but there is circumstantial evidence to suggest that this may be the case,” he said.
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British Health Secretary Matt Hancock (Photo: REUTERS / Simon Dawson)The result of the new mutation that is less likely to happen, according to Moran-Gilad, is a decrease in the number of cases that tests can reveal. “While the protein is used for diagnostic screening, the test and genome sequence for the corona virus have advanced greatly,” he said. “Because every lab test looks for several target regions within the virus that are detectable, it is unlikely that a single protein mutation will lead to a low diagnosis.”
While the new mutation may affect the effectiveness of the vaccine, the mutation rate of the corona virus (around one mutation every two weeks, according to Moran-Gilad) suggests that such a process may take years. “There are new mutations to this virus all the time, most of them unimportant,” Moran-Gilad said. “There is no reason to think that a specific mutation means we all wake up in the morning and suddenly see that the vaccine is not working. It is not an effect of everything or nothing, and at the moment there is no indication that this specific mutation is affecting the effectiveness of the vaccine in any way.”
“Our immune system creates a wide variety of antibodies to this virus, it is not just one type of antibody. Therefore, even if there is a mutation that could affect the effectiveness of the vaccine, it will not have a dramatic effect,” he added.
“The British are currently world leaders in their genetic sequence for corona patients. So they are the ones who find these things. It is very likely that what we see in the UK is just the tip of the iceberg. There are probably many mutations we do not yet know about because most of the world does not survey Consistently following the mutation, “he said. “We put the emphasis on Britain, because that’s where the reports come from, but it’s probably a universal issue,” Moran-Gilad concluded.