(SUP+ Dec. 15) -- Dr Paul Burton, chief medical officer of modena vaccine manufacturers, warned that if the Omicron and Delta variants infect someone at the same time, a new super-variant could be created.
Burton said that coronavirus infections typically involve only one mutant strain, but in rare cases, two mutant strains can attack at the same time. If these mutant strains infect the same cell, they may exchange DNA and bind to form a new version of the virus.
Burton warned that there is currently a lot of transmission in the UK, with both Aumechjong and Delta spreading in large numbers, and that such cases are more likely to occur. He told members of the Science and Technology Committee that it was "certainly" possible to exchange genes, triggering more dangerous mutations.
The researchers warn that these events, scientifically known as "recombination events," are possible, but they require very special conditions and the coincidence of most uncontrollable events.
To date, only three strains of COVID-19 produced by the exchange of genes in the virus have been documented, and the virus relies mainly on random mutations to produce more variation. When the Delta variant surpassed Alpha, no new variant was triggered for two months.
Olmikeron has already dominated London just two weeks after it was discovered in britain, and experts estimate that by next year it will be the main variant of British spread.
Burton said having the two variants spread together increases the risk of them exchanging genes and producing new ones. "There are indeed data that some papers were published in South Africa during the pandemic, when people (and of course immunocompromised people) may be carrying both viruses at the same time," he said. This is possible in the UK, especially given the number of infections we see. ”
Asked if that would lead to more dangerous variations, Burton said "definitely." He explained that while it is unlikely to be infected with both strains at the same time, and, for healthy people, there is only about two weeks to trigger an infection before the body begins to develop immunity and successfully clear the first virus. However, outbreaks like the one that broke out in the UK and the US last winter do increase the risk of recombinant events because the number of infections is higher.
There are currently 4,713 confirmed cases of Omiljung in the UK, and about one in five new cases nationwide is infected with the variant.
Scientists say it's possible for the two versions of the virus to swap genes, but that's unlikely to happen. To date, three variants triggered by two additional merges have been documented. But none of them have led to large-scale outbreaks, or more dangerous versions of the virus.
In one case, when Alpha merged with B.1.177 (first discovered in Spain), a reorganization took place in the UK. This reorganization resulted in 44 cases and quickly disappeared.
Scientists in California say they discovered another recombinant variant in early February, the Kent strain, fused with B.1.429. This recombination also resulted in very few cases and quickly disappeared.
EDIT: DXY
Audit: CMY
Proofreader: Zeng Huiwen