Study: New coronavirus strain may infect children more easily
By: Team Ifairer | Posted: 25-12-2020
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The mutated coronavirus strain that's been spreading in the UK is 56% more transmissible than other strains, according to the study by the Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The variant was identified in genomic surveillance by COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK), a consortium that analyses genome sequencing data from the UK. COG-UK is the largest contributor to the global Covid-19 database GISAID.
The variant is the result of multiple mutations in the spike protein of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, as well as mutations in other genomic regions of the RNA virus. Preliminary analysis suggests that it is more transmissible than previously circulating variants. COG-UK identified one of these mutations as "N501Y", in an area of the spike protein that binds to a key protein in the human cell, the ACE2 receptor. This was an indication that the alterations may, theoretically, result in the virus becoming more infectious.
Source: www.thehealthsite.com