![On the 28th, when it was confirmed for the first time that a mutant virus from the UK was introduced into the country, the quarantine authorities took an emergency. On this day, a hospital official is moving medical supplies in front of the negative pressure room at the hospital in Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do. [한주형 기자]](https://i0.wp.com/file.mk.co.kr/meet/neds/2020/12/image_readtop_2020_1327663_16091460934487478.jpg?w=560&ssl=1)
On the 28th, when it was confirmed for the first time that a mutant virus from the UK was introduced into the country, an emergency was put on the quarantine authorities. On this day, a hospital official is moving medical supplies in front of the negative pressure room at the hospital in Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do. [한주형 기자]The corona19 mutant virus, which first appeared in southeastern England in September, was known to the world when the British government reported it to the World Health Organization (WHO) on the 14th (local time). The fear of a mutant virus is its propagation power. There is no difference in lethality, but it spreads faster than the existing virus. It has been confirmed that the mutant virus from the UK is 70% more contagious than the existing Corona 19 virus. However, infectious disease experts diagnose that there is no need to fear. This is because there is no evidence that the fatality rate is higher than the existing coronavirus, and it is known that it can be prevented with the existing vaccine. Investigate the characteristics, meaning, and effects of the mutant virus from the UK through Q&A.
Q. When did it enter the country?
A. A family member living in London, England, who entered the country on the 22nd is the first person infected with the mutant coronavirus from the United Kingdom confirmed in Korea. They had no contact with the local community because they were confirmed to be confirmed during the airport quarantine corona19 diagnostic test. Separately, four family members who entered the country from the UK on the 8th and 13th of this month were also tested positive for Corona 19, but it has yet to be confirmed whether they are infected with the mutant virus. The quarantine authorities are collecting samples of them and conducting genome analysis. Of these families under examination, one male in his 80s was confirmed after death from cardiac arrest, and the remaining three were confirmed as positive one after another.
Q. Is the coronavirus from the UK a’mutant’ or a’variant’?
A. Variants and variants are different Viruses naturally replicate and change their gene sequence little by little, and the sequence change that occurs at this time is called mutation. Therefore, mutations only show differences at the base sequence or amino acid level, but do not change their characteristics. Variant means that virus characteristics such as infectivity and pathogenicity are significantly different and the virus has changed according to the continuous occurrence of virus mutations. In the current UK case, the term mutant virus is more appropriate. The quarantine authorities said that mutant viruses originating in the UK can be classified into the GR group. The GR Group has been detected by Russian ship crew members who have been confirmed to be infected by a group in an inspection conducted after entering Korea.
Q. What is the spread and fatality rate of the mutant coronavirus from the UK?
A. According to a survey conducted in the UK, mutant viruses have about 70% more spreading power than existing viruses, which can increase the infection reproduction index by up to 0.4 points. The quarantine authorities said that there is a possibility that there is a mutation in the host cell binding site, which could affect the antibody response or pathogenic infectivity. Unlike the existing virus, which showed relatively less infection in children, the mutant virus was found to infect children easily. In general, as the virus mutates, the spreading power increases and the lethality rate decreases. There are no reports that the British mutant virus has a higher or lower fatality rate compared to the existing virus.
Q. Can existing vaccines work against mutant viruses?
A. Pascal Sorio, CEO of AstraZeneca, announced on the 27th that its vaccine is effective against a mutant virus that originated in the UK. Since the protein structure of the mutant virus is the same as that of the existing virus, the currently developed vaccine will be effective, experts believe. Anthony Pouch, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the United States, told CNN that “mutation always occurs” and “it doesn’t seem to make people sicker.” WHO emergency response team leader Mike Ryan said “(this variation) is a common pattern in viral evolution.” In addition, as vaccine development has already been completed, it does not take long to make a new vaccine according to the mutation.
Q. Can the mutation be known through the existing diagnostic test?
A. The corona 19 diagnostic test can only determine whether there is a corona infection. Which variant or mutant corona virus should be tested by full-length genome analysis, which compares and analyzes all the sequences of the virus.
Q. How are countries around the world responding?
A. Concerned about the high spread of the mutant virus, countries are implementing border controls and blockades for the UK, including air traffic entry control. Taiwanese authorities have decided to temporarily suspend the sending and receiving of mail from the UK as cases of mutant virus spread around the world. According to the BBC, more than 40 countries have regulated entry into the UK this month. But mutant viruses are spreading everywhere. So far, mutant viruses have been found in more than 20 countries including South Korea, European countries such as UK and France, Middle East countries such as Lebanon and Israel, Asian countries such as Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong, and Australia and Canada.
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