A UK-based genetics lab on Wednesday announced that it had made important progress in understanding the novel coronavirus, thus helping find clues as to how to develop drugs and vaccines.
In a study, researchers at the University College London’s (UCL) Genetics Institute analyzed genomes from the coronavirus virus in over 7,500 people and identified almost 200 recurrent mutations.
“VIRUS IS ADAPTING”
They found that a large part of virus’s global genetic diversity was found in the hardest-hit countries, adding that this suggested it was already being transmitted widely across the world from late 2019, and was in human circulation long before it was first detected.
The 198 recurring discovered mutations offered clues as to how the virus was adapting, they said.
Institute Director Francois Balloux, who co-led the study, said: “All viruses naturally mutate. Mutations in themselves are not a bad thing and there is nothing to suggest SARS-CoV-2 is mutating faster or slower than expected. So far, we cannot say whether SARS-CoV-2 is becoming more or less lethal and contagious.”
“A major challenge to defeating viruses is that a vaccine or drug might no longer be effective if the virus has mutated. If we focus our efforts on parts of the virus that are less likely to mutate, we have a better chance of developing drugs that will be effective in the long run,” Balloux said. “We need to develop drugs and vaccines that cannot be easily evaded by the virus.”