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A mutant strain of the novel coronavirus discovered in South Africa appears to be able to ward off antibodies from individuals who had previously recovered from COVID-19 – meaning if the new strain spreads, we may see more people infected several times.
A group of South African scientists made the discovery in an article published earlier this week by the South African National Institute of Communicable Diseases. In it, the researchers describe how they studied blood samples from a small group of people who had developed COVID-19 but who eventually recovered. When the human body recovers from illness, it produces a protein known as antibodies to identify and ultimately protect itself in the future from the bacteria or virus that made it sick. (These pathogenic microorganisms are known as pathogens.) This means that people with COVID-19 should in theory have antibodies that recognize the pathogen causing it and neutralize it if re-infected.
Instead, according to the authors of the article, half of the blood samples from the patients they tested did not contain the antibodies needed to protect them from the 501Y.V2 strain of the novel coronavirus, which has been identified in Africa. South last month. Even though this was a small study and more research needs to be done, the early results do not bode well.
Not only could this interfere with the ability of the human population to develop natural immunity, it could also interfere with the effectiveness of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Both companies distribute mRNA vaccines, which are different from traditional vaccines that cause the immune system to develop antibodies against pathogens by injecting weakened or dead versions of pathogens into the body. MRNA vaccines, on the other hand, inject a synthetic single-stranded RNA molecule that infects our own cells and causes them to produce the protein that grows on the “peak” outside the coronavirus. The presence of this protein in the body is then recognized as an intruder, and the immune system learns to identify the coronavirus as an enemy and to protect itself from it.
In the case of COVID-19 vaccines, both train the body to recognize a protein on the SARS-CoV-2 virus known as Spike. Spike is the protein that helps the virus enter human cells and looks like little pins that stick out of the sphere of the virus itself, like the spines that grow all around a sea urchin. Unfortunately, the South African mutation alters this protein, which means it could affect the effectiveness of the vaccine.
The South African strain is not the only one causing concern. There is a new strain in Brazil which scientists say “also has changes at key positions” in a way that could interfere with the effectiveness of antibodies against the disease. Then there is a strain in the UK known as B117 which, while not deadlier than previous strains, is more transmissible.
“I think communicable is definitely the word to use because it highlights what we know and what we don’t know,” UCLA postdoctoral researcher Dr. Dylan Morris told Salon earlier this month. here about the British stock. “Even if the severity of the disease is not increasing or even decreasing slightly, ‘more transmissible’ is still a very scary thing at this point in the pandemic, as it could lead to faster spread and faster exponential growth. . “
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