A mutant virus called ‘501Y.v2′ or’B1351’ first discovered in South Africa
Pfizer vaccine protects against B117 strain
“The actual human immune response goes beyond serum-based neutralization”
Korea’s quarantine authorities strengthen the surveillance and management of mutant viruses
The UK Guardian reported that there are concerns about the possibility of a vaccine redesign and re-infection due to a new mutation in Corona 19.
A South African government study found that a new strain of virus, which emerged quickly at the end of last year, showed resistance to antibodies in plasma donated by patients who were cured by Corona 19, and found that the antibody ability decreased by 8 times.
These findings suggest that people who have already been cured of COVID-19 may be more likely to reinfect them, and that vaccines distributed around the world may be less effective.
Researchers say in laboratory tests that inactivating this new mutant virus, known as ‘501Y.v2′ or’B1351’, required eight times as many antibodies than the previous strain.
Research papers not yet peer-reviewed by the Johannesburg National Institute of Infectious Diseases found that the efficacy of antibody-rich plasmas varied widely, with some patients’ plasma neutralizing capacity dropping 64 times when tested for new mutations, and others. In the case of patients, the ability to eliminate new mutations was not affected.
In the study, nearly half of 44 patients reported “no detectable neutralizing activity.”
These new strains pose a significant risk of re-infection, and they are emphasizing the rapid redesign’urgent requirement’ for the vaccine. Cases of infection of the B1351 variant have already been reported in South Africa.
The eight-fold reduction in neutralization is the threshold used by the World Health Organization (WHO) to determine when a redesign for a seasonal influenza vaccine is needed, but it cannot directly compare the two infections.
Trevor Bedford, who studies immunology and viral evolution at the University of Washington, said: “If the results in South Africa are confirmed, the risk of the strain becoming more prevalent will justify the’potential vaccine redesign’ plan this fall.” He also said that if we, who have a vaccine against the current virus, get the vaccine as soon as possible, we can deal with it through an update of the vaccine in the future and in a new situation.
The mutant virus’B1351′, first discovered in South Africa, is different from the’B117′ strain, first discovered in Kent, UK in September, but both seem to share a mutation in the spike protein and spread better.
The UK reportedly recorded at least 29 cases of infection with the B1351 strain.
In the hypothetical question that these effects are large enough to overturn protection by current vaccines, the current predictions are large enough, if not for B117 when faced with a South African mutation,” said Daety Altman, professor of immunology at Imperial College London, England.
James Ney Smith, professor of structural biology at Oxford University, said the findings weren’t good news, but people shouldn’t panic, saying that the actual human immune response is more than serum-based neutralization, and the new virus is already infecting people with the existing strain. He said it doesn’t mean it’s becoming, creating a bottle and spreading it again.
Further research suggests that the Pfizer-Bio&Tec vaccine protects against the B117 strain, which has recently been attributed to the rapidly increasing incidence in the UK.
Bio&Tech researchers tested the ability of antibodies extracted from 16 vaccine trial participants to neutralize mutations such as the virus or B117 strain carrying the original Wuhan strain spike protein, and found that the vaccine should be equally effective against both strains. Suggesting, there was no difference between them
However, while Dr. Simon Clark, associate professor of cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, confirms that the study confirms that the antibody response is not slowed by mutations in the variant, it will actually adversely affect the vaccine, as it does not assess the possible effects of this on T-cell immunity. He also said that it is possible.
On the other hand, the WHO recently evaluated the international risk of the COVID-19 virus mutation as “very high”, and our quarantine authorities shortened the diagnostic test cycle after entry for all overseas visitors from the 18th to 1 day from the original. The mutant virus surveillance management is being strengthened.
A full-length genome analysis is being conducted to confirm the characteristics and mutations of the COVID-19 variant virus.As a result of conducting a full-length genome analysis on a total of 58 confirmed cases of overseas inflow since October last year, a total of 18 cases in the UK, 2 cases in South Africa, and 1 case in Brazil. The mutant virus has been identified and is undergoing further analysis.
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