For Russia, the self-destruction of the delta strain, which occurred in Japan, can be dangerous, because this variant of the coronavirus restrains the rest of the strains due to its increased infectivity. Ancha Baranova, a biologist and professor at the School of Systems Biology at George Mason University (Virginia, USA), said this in an interview with Lente.ru.
According to the biologist, he provoked the emergence of derivatives with weakened functions to correct mutations. “Since there was one delta in Japan, it (…) accumulated mutations in the nsp14 protein. And this protein determines the ability of the virus to correct mutations. But since nsp14 itself “messed up”, it could not fix anything, ”she explained.
Baranova noted that there was only one importation of the delta strain in Japan, which subsequently spread throughout the country. In Russia, as in Europe, there were many such drifts, which is why COVID-19 strains develop from different roots, and the virus cannot break down.
This is due to the fact that the roots of the delta strain came to Russia and other countries from Iran and the United States, and then merged and changed. Baranova stressed that with the disappearance of one branch of COVID-19 in our country, no one will notice.
The specialist said that Rospotrebnadzor daily sequences a small number of virus samples. Because of this, it is difficult for scientists to determine exactly which strain is dominant. Baranova noted that more than a thousand samples are studied every day in the UK, thanks to which the epidemiological picture is clearer there.
By data newspaper The Japan Times, after identifying a record 26 thousand cases per day at the end of August, the number of new cases of COVID-19 fell to 200 in November. The epidemiological situation in the country has improved significantly due to the disappearance of the delta strain.
5
residents of Japan
contracted the coronavirus in Tokyo, a metropolis with a population of 13 million (data from November 24)
According to Ituro Inoue, a professor at the National Institute of Genetics, the incidence of COVID-19 in Japan has decreased since the self-destruction of the delta strain of coronavirus. In addition, high vaccination rates and compliance with infection control measures were impacted.
The World Health Organization questioned the self-destruction of the strain in the country. They said that the extinction of this type of virus is unlikely, since people in other countries are still infected with it.
“This mutation can be found among another two million genetic sequences of the delta strain around the world, which are known to scientists,” – said in the organization.
After the long weekend imposed by President Vladimir Putin, the epidemiological situation in Russia is gradually improving. According to Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, the incidence of COVID-19 is declining most of all in Moscow, St. Petersburg and the Moscow region, she said. At the same time, the average incidence rates were exceeded in the Tomsk, Amur and Novgorod regions, as well as in the Khabarovsk Territory and the Republic of Crimea.
Over the past day, 33 796 cases were detected in Russia, the total number of infections in the country was 9 468 189. 1 238 patients with COVID-19 died, 38 450 recovered.In Moscow, a metropolis whose population is comparable to that of Tokyo, 3349 fell ill per day. human.
#Biologist #explained #danger #selfdestruction #delta #strain #coronavirus #Russia