Study: COVID-19 Mutates More Than Previously Believed, 30-Plus Strains Exist

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Study: COVID-19 Mutates More Than Previously Believed, 30-Plus Strains Exist

A new study carried out by researchers at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, finds that COVID-19 has mutated into at least 30 different variations, and that the ability of the novel coronavirus to mutate has been underestimated.

The study, which was led by Professor Li Lanjuan and published on the website medRxiv.org on Sunday, analyzed the strains of the coronavirus that had infected 11 patients from Hangzhou, where there are at least 1,264 reported cases of the illness. 

Some of the changes were so rare that “scientists had never considered they might occur,” according to the South China Morning Post. Laboratory tests also found that certain mutations resulted in deadlier strains of the coronavirus.

“Sars-CoV-2 has acquired mutations capable of substantially changing its pathogenicity,” the researchers wrote in the paper.

However, the Chinese researchers also found that mutations which weakened the virus did not mean lower risk of severe illness for all people. Two of the patients in the sample group had contracted milder strains but still required admission to an intensive care unit. 

The results indicate “that the true diversity of the viral strains is still largely underappreciated,” Li noted.

Li and her colleagues believe that understanding how strains vary by geographic region might help determine how best to combat the virus.

“Drug and vaccine development, while urgent, need to take the impact of these accumulating mutations … into account to avoid potential pitfalls,” they said in the paper.

Sourse: sputniknews.com

Study: COVID-19 Mutates More Than Previously Believed, 30-Plus Strains Exist

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