Oregon COVID-19 Cases: Scientists Discovered a Mutation of Coronavirus Variant First Found in the UK

Geneticists from Oregon said that they had discovered a mutated version of the highly transmissible variant of coronavirus first found in the UK.

The scientists found this mutation from a single sample collected from an outbreak in a health care setting in Oregon. Genetic analysis revealed that the new mutation was contracted from the community and did not originate from the patient where they got the sample.

They said that the mutation from the variant first found in the UK has a mutation that can be found in the variant from South Africa. They have issued a warning that this new mutation may make it less susceptible to vaccines.

Homegrown Variant of Coronavirus Mutation First Discovered in the UK

The New York Times reported that the scientists in Oregon had spotted a homegrown version of the coronavirus mutation that was first discovered in the UK. The B.1.1.7 variant is known to be a highly transmissible variant of COVID-19 than the original variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the infection.

Oregon Health and Science University geneticist Brian O'Roak said that the variant they found in Oregon was not imported from elsewhere but occurred spontaneously in the state.

Working with the CDC's effort in tracking variants, O'Roak and colleagues have already deposited their results in databases that they share with other scientists.

COVID-19 Variant in Oregon With Worrying Mutation

The scientists noted that the new version found in Oregon has a worrying mutation of E484K (Eek) seen in the coronavirus variant circulating in South Africa, Brazil, and New York City. Lab tests suggest that E484K mutation renders available vaccines less effective and blunts the body's immune response.

The results were so worrying that Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna have started to develop new versions of COVID-19 vaccines they designed, US News reported.

According to a research published in Nature Medicine, entitled "Resistance of SARS-CoV-2 variants to neutralization by monoclonal and serum-derived polyclonal antibodies," the variant found in South Africa is the most resistant to antibodies among the variants found in other parts of the world.

On the other hand, the COVID-19 variant circulating in Brazil is not resistant even though it also carries the Eek mutation. Study lead author and viral immunologist Michael Diamond from Washington University in St. Louis said that the second mutation does not display as bad an effect.

Mutations in viruses could either enhance or weaken one another, like the variants in Brazil and South Africa which both contain similar mutations including Eek. However, the Brazilian variant has the K417N mutation that is not present in the South African variant.

Experts said that it is still too early to say whether the variant found in Oregon would behave like the ones found in Brazil for South Africa. that is why precautions should still be in place to prevent further transmission of the virus.

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