The World Health Organization (WHO) has found no evidence that a new coronavirus mutation found in the UK seriously affects the structure of the pathogen. This was stated at a briefing by the head of the technical group of the WHO Emergency Diseases Unit Maria Van Kerkhove, the broadcast was conducted on Twitter.
There is currently no evidence that the mutation of the virus behaves differently, she said. “But you need to be careful in assessing the situation. We are closely monitoring whether mutations are found to have changes that can neutralize antibodies. And we also test all mutations that appear for this, ”explained the organization's specialist. Van Kerkhove added that the mutation is associated with a previously identified altered virus found in minks.
Michael Ryan, director of the WHO Health Emergencies Program, stressed that such mutations are common and common. “But with previous mutations from minks from Denmark and others, questions have arisen: does this mutation make the virus more serious, does it make the virus easier to spread, does it interfere with the diagnosis in some way, and whether the vaccine will be effective,” he said. However, no question has yet been finally answered.
Earlier, UK Health Minister Matthew Hancock said that a new strain of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus had been discovered in the country, which spreads faster than the original form. There is no evidence that it is more lethal than known strains of SARS-CoV-2 and is resistant to vaccines, he said. At the same time, it is more easily transmitted from person to person and therefore more contagious.
As of December 14, there are more than 72.4 million people infected with coronavirus in the world, of which more than 1.61 million have died, and another 47.4 million have recovered. Most of the infected are registered in the USA, India, Brazil, Russia and France.
