New corona mutants are spreading around the world. It is important to react to them quickly – for example with adapted vaccines.
Posted today at 7:00 am—
–It is important to monitor the coronaviruses around the world to find new mutations. Brazilian researchers are developing new tests to detect virus variants.
Photo: Douglas Magno (AFP)
There are increasing reports of new virus variants, i.e. coronaviruses that show genetic changes, mutations. For example, cases from Finland, Brittany, New York and California with modified viruses have been reported. As soon as there is genetic evidence that these variants are more contagious or could evade the immune system, they are closely monitored as a “variant of interest”.
This includes a disturbing variant that scientists from Angola recently discovered in infected travelers who had come from Tanzania. It shows more than thirty changes, more than any previously examined corona variant. The team posted the previously untested data online last week MedRxiv.
