where do the variants come from?...
where do the variants come from?..
mutation. viruses are little more than strands of DNA.
>where do the variants come from?...<
A variant is a mutation. Mutations take place when replication of the virus in an infected cell is non precise.
Unlike many viruses, the Covid virus replicates in an unstable way. The newly created virus particle in the cell is much more often imprecise than a stable virus.
This means every single infected cell in the entire world can generate mutated (imprecise replicated) virus particles.
Thus, the variants can come from anywhere.
The MU variant originated allegedly in Columbia. It ran for 8 months before starting to burn out but still accounts for 39% of Columbian cases and 13% of Ecuador cases.
Curiously, the initial highest US prevalence was in Alaska, with 132 cases. Los Angeles had 167 cases between Jun 19 and Aug, with the most cases seen in July, and a total of 232 cases by 9/5. It was spread, likely by illegals, to Florida, where it was 20% of cases by July 26. In three months, it’s spread from Alaska and California to 47 states and DC.
MU carries several key mutations, including E484K, N501Y and D614G, that have been linked with increased transmissibility and reduced immune protection. E474K and N501Y were first seen in B.1.351 Beta (South Africa/Nigeria) and P.1 Gamma (Brazil).
N501Y enables cell penetration, E484K (aka EEK) reduces time to symptoms and enables the virus to spread even among vaccinated folks, and D614G (aka Doug) fortifies the spike and enables antibody escape. (vaccinated and naturally acquired antibodies both)
The good news is, Johnson and Johnson vaccine should show good results against this variant, as it held up well against Beta and Gamma variants in trials.