Rospotrebnadzor officially confirmed to Kommersant that “isolated cases” of the new version of the coronavirus AY.4.2 were found among samples from the Moscow region.
This is “one of the many” offshoots of the delta strain line identified by British researchers. AY.4.2 contains two mutations in the spike protein that help it penetrate cells better – this is expected to provide increased infectivity.
According to Kamil Khafizov, head of the scientific group for the development of new methods for diagnosing human diseases at the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor, the isolated virus isolates from the Moscow region “have all the significant genetic differences inherent in the new AY.4.2 branch, including the two mutations mentioned above.”
Mr. Khafizov announced the discovery of a new strain in Russia on Thursday, but then did not specify where the samples were taken from. Oksana Stanevich, an infectious disease specialist, an employee of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Medical Research of the European University, said that we are talking about three cases – two in Tver and one in St. Petersburg. She drew attention to the fact that the St. Petersburg genome was sequenced back in September, when AY.4.2 could not circulate in Russia. According to Ms. Stanevich, Rospotrebnadzor could not take into account the errors in the operation of the special PANGO algorithm, which studies all strains sequenced in Russia.
“Standard analysis algorithms may not yet take into account the presence of two key mutations in the S-protein gene (Y145H and A222V). However, additional scripts created by the bioinformatics of the Central Research Institute of Experimental Energy are guaranteed to reveal their presence in the pathogen's genome. Therefore, we would like to assure that the samples from Tver and St. Petersburg do not really have such replacements, and the experts of Rospotrebnadzor are aware of this, “added Kamil Khafizov.
For more information on the new branch of the virus, see the article “The virus distinguished itself by its diversity”.
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