Travellers arriving in England and Scotland will soon be required to show negative coronavirus tests, officials said on Friday, as they try to curb the spread o
updated: Jan 08 2021, 21:24 ist
The emergence in Britain and South Africa of two new variants of Sars-CoV-2, which are potentially far more infectious versions of the virus, has prompted widespread concern. Here is what we know and what we don t about the mutations.
All viruses mutate when they replicate in order to adapt to their environment.
Scientists have tracked multiple mutations of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, since it appeared in China in late 2019.
The vast majority of mutations did not materially alter either the virus s virulence or transmissibility.
However, one mutation variant B117, which likely emerged in southeastern England in September, according to Imperial College London has now been detected in countries across the world, including the United States, France and India.
What we know about the new COVID-19 mutations
While it remains uncertain whether two variants would affect the efficacy of existing vaccines,
new versions could be developed within weeks, German biotechnology firm BioNTech said
AFP, PARIS
The emergence in the UK and South Africa of two new variants of COVID-19, which are potentially far more infectious versions of the coronavirus, has prompted widespread concern. Here is what we know and what we do not about the mutations.
WHAT ARE THEY?
All viruses mutate when they replicate to adapt to their environment. Scientists have tracked multiple mutations of COVID-19 since it appeared in Wuhan in late 2019 and the vast majority of mutations have not materially altered either the virulence or transmissibility of the coronavirus.
What are they?
All viruses mutate when they replicate in order to adapt to their environment.
Scientists have tracked multiple mutations of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, since it appeared in China in late 2019.
The vast majority of mutations did not materially alter either the virus’ virulence or transmissibility.
However, one mutationㅡvariant B117, which likely emerged in southeastern England in September, according to Imperial College Londonㅡhas now been detected in countries across the world, including the US, France, and India.
Another variant, 501.V2, was detected in South Africa in October, and has since spread to several nations, including Britain and France.