Is COVID-19's rate of evolution uncommon, or do other viruses also produce many different strains?

Does SARS-CoV-2 have more variations than other viruses?


Interestingly, SARS-CoV-2 appears to be evolving all the time. The letters alpha, beta, delta, lambda, mu, and omicron have all made headlines within the past two years. According to the World Health Organization, dozens of additional variants have been found, but they are not on this list since they are not a top priority.

 

Is the rapid development of this particular coronavirus exceptional, or do other viruses also have a wide variety of strains? We consulted with professionals to get the answer.

 

The virus population is ever-expanding. Suman Das, an associate professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center who researches the evolution of viruses like SARS-CoV-2, has found that replication is not without its bumps. There is a chance for error when viruses use host cell machinery to replicate their DNA, leading to mutations. Moreover, whereas most changes have little effect or render the virus useless, some give it a good advantage. Perhaps specific changes render the virus more contagious or more resistant to vaccines. Viruses "choose" (or maintain) mutations that increase their chances of survival and reproduction. This is the process by which variations emerge.

 

The genetic information for SARS-CoV-2 is stored on an RNA strand, just like that of influenza viruses, RSVs, enteroviruses, and rhinoviruses that cause the common cold. Katie Kistler, a postdoctoral researcher at Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center who studies viral evolution, remarked that "[t]he mutation rate of SARS-CoV-2 is not particularly notable" compared to other RNA viruses. She told Live Science that it's comparable to the mutation rate of other common RNA viruses like influenza and common coronaviruses (opens in new tab) that cause cold-like symptoms.

 

When it comes down to it, SARS-CoV-2 isn't undergoing mutations at an abnormally high rate. The rapid rise in the number of different types of SARS-CoV-2 may be due to a number of factors, such as the virus's ability to spread quickly, its shift from animals to humans as hosts, and the development of new treatments and vaccines.

 

An assistant professor of microbiology at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Jesse Erasmus, speculated that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, would appear to evolve more mutations since it is considerably more transmissible than other common viruses, leading to many more cases. Compared to other prevalent viruses, the actual mutation rate per infection is around the same, if not slower. But he told Live Science that the virus can spread and cause positive changes because it is always moving from one person to another and has been doing so for more than two years.

 

The recent spread to humans may also be connected to the rapid evolution of SARS-CoV-2. Up until this year (2019), the virus only infected animals, most likely bats. "The virus needs to adapt to infect humans rather than bats," Kistler explained. At this time of transition, "several advantageous mutations are available to the virus." After that point, a virus's rate of adaptive evolution inevitably slows down.

 

That's the pattern the H1N1 pandemic flu virus of 2009 stuck to. "We show that the rate of functional change is larger during the initial pandemic period and [a] year or two after its emergence," she added, adding that it eventually dropped to a more constant baseline level. As with other pandemic viruses, scientists can only guess how SARS-CoV-2 will change as it goes from an epidemic to a common disease, but they think the rate at which it will adapt will slow.

 

Finally, the quick evolution of vaccines and treatments to combat SARS-CoV-2 is a significant factor in the observed modifications. According to Das's interview with Live Science, the virus is under far greater pressure now than in the early days of the pandemic to develop resistance to the pharmaceutical interventions that are intended to defeat it. Antibody combinations, convalescent plasma treatment, and two currently available medications aim to combat COVID. Many novel selective pressures are being applied to the virus. The virus will be able to overcome these obstacles thanks to a subset of the mutations that have proven to be stable.





Reference : https://www.livescience.com/does-covid-have-more-varients-than-other-viruses

Image source : https://pixabay.com/id/vectors/coronavirus-simbol-corona-virus-5058258/

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