Are Coronavirus, mutations may be even more dangerous than the original form? This is a question many experts - and come to different conclusions.

The Coronavirus spreads for almost six months on earth with dramatic consequences. Now US want to have researchers Worrying found out The Virus could be due to mutations of infectious. Other experts give to this Thesis the different assessments. Here you will find the basic facts to the Coronavirus* and the Corona-News from Germany. We also offer them in a map, the current case numbers in Germany*. Currently there are the following recommendations to the Corona-protection measures*.

Berlin - about half a year Ago, the Coronavirus appeared for the first time, now it has infected, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University more than nine million people around the world. Now, an analysis from the United States grabs the headlines: Sars-CoV-2* could be mutated into a n och more dangerous variant , it is called. Researchers at the American Scripps Research Institute conclude in a not-yet-peer-reviewed Preprint publication from the genome analysis that a Mutation with the name D614G the Coronavirus infectious power . Under laboratory conditions, the pathogen could infect more cells, reported the Team recently.

Coronavirus: In Europe and the US East coast, a Mutation of the pathogen

courses In Europe and on the US East coast circulating virus, the D614G Mutation was tribes, in fact, a strong presence, says Richard Neher from the University of Basel to do so. "From this domination, however, do not conclude that the Virus spread with the Mutation more quickly." The dominance is not necessarily due to a higher transfer rate or virulence , but the random , explains the head of the research group on Evolution of viruses and bacteria: The D614G-virus variant have been at the beginning of the individual larger outbreaks* and subsequently more spread out than other variants. "Coincidences just play at the beginning of an incredibly important role," emphasizes Neher.

+ In the US East coast state of New York raged, the Coronavirus, some weeks ago, still extremely. Apparently, a mutant variant of the pathogen circulated.©AFP / BRYAN R. SMITH

mutations be the Coronavirus in General, absolutely not unusual , says Neher. In the middle it will come in its 30,000 bases every two weeks to a Mutation. Thus, the mutation rate per Base is slightly lower than, for example, in the case of Influenza, or HIV, because of the larger genome of Sars-CoV-2 , the value that is ultimately about the same. By mutations, it is possible to conclude on whether the two outbreaks are linked chains of Infection from person to person not understand about but. In the most recent outbreak in the Chinese capital of Beijing , for example, genome comparisons, therefore, suggest that the pathogens from the outside into the country introduced was - exactly how do, is not to say.

Coronavirus: a Mutation that gives the pathogen, according to experts, more stability

Other scientists think that the Virus have a Mutation, loosely speaking, not necessary: Sars-CoV-2 is very well the people adjusted , Friedemann Weber, Director of the Institute for Virology, Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen says. "Because I ask myself first: What it takes anymore?" According to a recent study, D614G Mutation rentals, however, a little more stability , this could be for the particle to be quite beneficial. That a single Mutation make a big difference, in particular to only one specific enzyme acting drug conceivable. Many drugs and vaccine candidates* however, be placed on a broader Basis and therefore usually insensitive to individual mutations.

Worldwide known is currently not a single Virus isolate with changed pathogenicity emphasizes Neher also. "We can not exclude the possibility that it is you," he admitted. But this is rather unlikely. His Team has developed, together with US colleagues, the web application "next train", with the on fed-genome sequences can be used to track which way viruses spread. The Software analyzes how a pathogen is changing, so what mutations it accumulates during the propagation* - a kind of family tree is created.

The Coronavirus has not been read in many countries, and several times introduced

So let from the collected data, for example, that Sars-CoV-2 landed only once, in countries such as Germany, Austria or the USA , but multiple imported has been explained Andreas mountain Thaler from the research Institute for Molecular medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (CeMM) in Vienna. After half a year of the pandemic to draw conclusions on the consequences of detected mutations were not possible. But genome comparisons could help to determine where the Virus came behind a given outbreak. This, in turn, can be useful to when you interrupt the chain of Infection*.

in Addition, the information of "next train to" conclusions on the origin of Sars-CoV-2 . "We expect with great certainty that the Virus in China is from animals to humans humans*," says Neher. It was once, and in the Region of Wuhan happen. To future adjustments and changes, however, the data do not close. Mountain Thaler: "The time will show in which direction the Virus is developed."

A whole other Thesis to Coronavirus mutations expressed in the past, the Berlin-based virologist Christian Drosten*: He attracts into account that mutations of the Virus . You can find more information in the following Video.

(Reuters)

*Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.

section list image:©dpa / Uncredited

Date Of Update: 26 June 2020, 08:36