oh yay! Mutation in dominant Arizona coronavirus strain may make it more infectious

[Kali]

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-science/2020/07/11/mutation-dominant-arizona-coronavirus-strain-more-infectious/5410710002/

Over 90 percent of novel coronavirus samples from Arizona in a recent genetic analysis have a mutation that researchers hypothesize makes the virus more infectious.

So far, researchers have analyzed more than 1,400 samples of the virus from patients with COVID-19 and have identified a mutated strain that they believe could help explain the recent explosion of cases in the state.

This genetic mutation affects the spikes on the outside of the virus that the virus uses to attach to and infect host cells.

Because of the mutation's crucial location, it could change the way the spikes operate to infect people, making the virus more transmissible, according to David Engelthaler, co-director of the Translational Genomics Research Institute’s Pathogen and Microbiome Division.

more at link

[applegrove]

1. That herd immunity thing GOP politicians were all secretly gunning for

looks like a bad idea. Or was it culling of the herd? And all you had to do was look to the experts to know they did not know enough about covid to let anything but fight it happen. Scientists said at the beginning it could die off when a vaccine is found or it could be like HIV Aides and be never vaccinated against but only have some therapies. I wonder what made Trump wear a mask all of a sudden? Could it be the scientific reports that there is no personal innoculation after a few weeks when someone has had COVID-19? So there never will be natural herd immunity? Or that it causes damage to organs including the brain? Politicians from northern states are now trying to lure canada into opening the borders again while covid and its many mutations explode in the USA. No thanks. We had 221 new cases in canada today (Saturday). You had around 70,000 Friday.

[love_katz]

2. Kicking for visibility

[LunaSea]

3. Republicans have accelerated the mutation rate

Can't wait till the facebook muckwits come up with the notion that they've turned
the nation into a giant petri dish for sinister purposes.

[NBachers]

4. When you feed the Dark Side, it grows within you and strengthens.

[stopdiggin]

5. thanks. but this has been the dominant strain in the US (and Europe)

(with some west coast exceptions, WA/CA) since pretty much the beginning.

[Kali]

10. I think our early on cases were coming from CA

"The earlier strains that came into Arizona didn't have this mutation and those strains didn't go on in most cases to cause any type of sustained outbreaks," Engelthaler said. "They typically fizzled out."

[denem]

6. This is not news.

The D614G strain emerged in Italy, took over Europe, then New York. This is THE virus strain we have been dealing with since March. It.Is.Not.New.

[GreenPartyVoter]

9. Nor is it more deadly. Weaker but more infectious, I think.

[Kali]

11. ...

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1038&pid=7660

[BadgerMom]

7. Yeah, maybe that explains "the recent explosion of cases in the state."

And maybe it’s because the effin’ Republicans won’t do anything to fight it.

[Kali]

12. yeah, I found that to be quite a stretch

[yuiyoshida]

8. oh crap. This is just great... :P

Just what we need... a virus that Mutates and becomes a super virus... how lovely for us.. Trump you asshole..I hope you catch this shit.