A new variant of the coronavirus with worrying mutations is on the rise in New York City, according to press reports.
This latest variant of the coronavirus, named B.1.526, first appeared in New York in November 2020, and now accounts for about 25% of the coronavirus genomes that were sequenced from New York in February and posted to a bank. global database called GISAID, according to The New York Times.
Researchers at the California Institute of Technology identified B.1.526 after searching this database for mutations in the virus’s spike protein, or the structure that allows the virus to bind and enter human cells. The researchers posted their findings, which have not yet been peer-reviewed, in the prepress database bioRxiv.
There are two “branches” or versions of the B.1.526 lineage, both with worrying mutations. One branch has a mutation called E484K, which has also been seen in other variants of the coronavirus, including those identified in South Africa and Brazil. This mutation can reduce the ability of certain antibodies to neutralize or inactivate the virus and can help the coronavirus to partially avoid COVID-19 vaccines, Live Science previously reported. The other branch has a mutation called S477N, which can help the virus bind more strongly to cells, the Times reported.
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Separately, researchers at Columbia University also identified variant B.1.526 when they sequenced more than 1,100 virus samples from patients with COVID-19 at their hospital. They found that the percentage of patients infected with the version of B.1.526 with the E484K mutation has increased rapidly in recent weeks, and now infects 12% of their patients.
“We found that the detection rate for this new variant has been going up in recent weeks. One concern is that it may be starting to outpace other strains, just like the UK and South Africa variants” did in these countries, Dr. David Ho , director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center at Columbia University who led the Colubmia study, told CNN. However, Ho added that more research is needed to determine whether B.1.526 is beating other variants.
“Given the involvement of E484K or S477N [mutations], combined with the fact that the New York area has a lot of permanent immunity [to earlier coronavirus strains] of the spring wave, this is definitely one to watch, “Kristian Andersen, a virologist at the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, told the Times.
Originally published on Live Science.