23 Jan 2021 01:32PMPARIS: The emergence of several, more infectious strains of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has worried governments and scientists, who are investigating how and why the virus became more transmissible.AdvertisementMost of these are inconsequential. But some - as with the virus variants that emerged recently in Britain, South Africa and Brazil - can give the virus a decisive new advantage.
"In South Africa and Brazil there was already quite a high level of antibody response from people who had been infected and recovered from the virus."Other experts expressed doubt that immunity levels directly influenced the current mutations. "In this patient there might be something defective in the response so the virus can just stay around for a long time," Meyer told AFP.While the COVID-19 virus typically infects individuals for around 10 days before being neutralised by the body, some studies have shown that certain patients may carry it for several weeks or longer - maximising the window for mutations.
He said a more transmissible variant was likely to develop only later during the pandemic, as most immunosuppressed individuals had been shielded for months and so few would initially have been infected.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »
Source: TODAYonline - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »
Source: YahooSG - 🏆 3. / 71 Read more »
Source: TODAYonline - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »