Without this genomic information, new variants may spread rampantly and undetected through the country and globally. That translates to scientists sequencing virus samples from about 5 percent of the total number of COVID-19 patients, selected to be representative of the populations most at risk from the disease. Spring Breakers Could Be Tipping Point for Key COVID Variant in Floridaĭetecting variants of concern and developing a public health response to them requires a robust genomic surveillance program. and B.1.351, first discovered in Brazil and South Africa, respectively, that can evade some antibodies produced by the vaccines. More worrisome are other variants such as P.1. Fortunately, preliminary research that has not yet been peer-reviewed found that the B.1.1.7 variant remains susceptible to current vaccines. Vaccine developers and other scientists then used this genetic information to test whether the new variants change how well the vaccines work. Preliminary research suggests these mutations translated into a higher rate of transmission, meaning that they spread much more easily from person to person than prior strains. They found particular mutations in the spike protein – with names like ∆69-70 and N501Y-that made it easier for the virus to infect human cells. Scientists looked further into this variant’s genome to determine how it was overcoming the distancing recommendations and other public health interventions. Even amid a national shutdown, this version of the virus was spreading rapidly, more so than its predecessors. Public health investigators discovered that a certain sequence with multiple changes, including the spike protein, was on the rise in the U.K. Take the B.1.1.7 variant, first detected in the United Kingdom, which has strong genomic surveillance in place.
#Portant data merge how to
Here’s How to Beat Back Multiplying Coronavirus Variantsīut how do researchers know if variants are emerging and if people should be concerned? Our hospital, for example, uses genomic surveillance to detect outbreaks that otherwise are missed by traditional methods. Genomic surveillance can also be important in health care settings. This kind of information lets public health officials tailor interventions and recommendations for the public. On the other hand, if there are a lot of differences between the sequences, these two individuals did not catch the virus from each other.
For example, if two people have viral sequences with zero or very few differences between them, it suggests the virus was transmitted from one to the other, or from a common source. Scientists can use the genetic sequences to track how the virus is being transmitted in the community and in health care facilities. Researchers are particularly on the lookout for any mutations that distinguish virus specimens from others or match known variants.
0 kommentar(er)
