Severity of current SARS-CoV-2 variants is not linked to the number of mutations

Mar 19 2024University of North Carolina at Charlotte New research from UNC Charlotte's Center for Computational Intelligence to Predict Health and Environmental Risks has found that the two most prevalent strains of the virus that cause COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 variants BA.2.86 and JN.1, are not significantly better than their predecessor Omicron at evading immune responses and causing infections despite having a high number of mutations compared to previous variants.

There was some speculation that large numbers of new mutations in BA.2.86 and JN.1 conferred a greater ability of these variants to evade the human immune system and be more transmissible. Extensive computational analyses conducted by a team of UNC Charlotte scholars and students determined that these variants only had small, statistically insignificant changes in immune evasion and transmissibility infection capacity compared to earlier variants, including Omicron.

Daniel Janies, Co-Director of CIPHER and the Carol Grotnes Belk Distinguished Professor of Bioinformatics and Genomics in the College of Computing and Informatics The team found minor changes in binding affinity for neutralizing antibodies and ACE2 for BA.2.86 and JN.1 in comparison to previous SARS-CoV-2 variants. However, those changes were not statistically significant. Therefore, they concluded that BA.2.86 and JN.1 have no significant increase in immune evasion or infection capacity to previous variants.

Source: Healthcare Press (healthcarepress.net)

United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Mutations do not predict the severity of current variants of SARS-CoV-2, finds studyNew research from UNC Charlotte's Center for Computational Intelligence to Predict Health and Environmental Risks (CIPHER) has found that the two most prevalent strains of the virus that cause COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 variants BA.2.86 and JN.
Source: medical_xpress - 🏆 101. / 51 Read more »

Vaccine monitoring is crucial as SARS-CoV-2 variants continue to evolve, says studyResearchers at the Francis Crick Institute and the National Institute for Health and Care Research Biomedical Research Centre at UCLH have highlighted the importance of continued surveillance of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and vaccine performance as the virus continues to evolve.
Source: medical_xpress - 🏆 101. / 51 Read more »

Research highlights the need for continued surveillance of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and vaccinesResearchers at the Francis Crick Institute and the National Institute for Health and Care Research Biomedical Research Centre at UCLH have highlighted the importance of continued surveillance of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and vaccine performance as the virus continues to evolve.
Source: NewsMedical - 🏆 19. / 71 Read more »

Study Estimates Fatigue Incidence and Predictors after SARS-CoV-2 InfectionScientists at the CDC and Washington University have conducted a study to estimate the incidence rate and predictors of fatigue after SARS-CoV-2 infection. The study reveals the long-term consequences of COVID-19, commonly known as long-COVID.
Source: NewsMedical - 🏆 19. / 71 Read more »

Major study reveals COVID vaccines protect against serious cardiac events post-infectionThe impact of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination on thromboembolic and cardiovascular complication risk.
Source: NewsMedical - 🏆 19. / 71 Read more »

New nasal spray may reduce severity of sleep apnea, researchers findAustralian researchers have discovered that a bedtime nasal spray has the potential to reduce the severity of sleep apnea in people and lower their blood pressure.
Source: medical_xpress - 🏆 101. / 51 Read more »