4 ms·

There are two different strains. An older one based in Asia that appears weaker. A newer one found in Italy. This research came out months ago but no one is

by wolco 6y ago

There are two different strains. An older one based in Asia that appears weaker. A newer one found in Italy. This research came out months ago but no one is mentioning this.

crowbahr 6y ago
Was the research peer reviewed? Published in any journals? Rigorous? Documented?
- networkimprov 6y ago
  It was reported in the NYTimes, FWIW.
- noodlenotes 6y ago
  They're referring to a paper published in Cell. "Tracking changes in SARS-CoV-2 Spike: evidence that D614G increases infectivity of the COVID-19 virus" https://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/S0092-8674(20)30820-5.pdf https://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/S0092-8674(20)30820-5.pdf There's a more infectious mutation that overtakes the original form wherever it spreads, including Asia, although it's not more severe. I guess Asian countries would have an advantage because they faced the original form first and got their act together, while Europe and the East Coast of the US faced the more infectious variant early on. (The West Coast, on the other hand, started out with the original form, probably because the virus came directly from Asia. The variant didn't even show up in the Bay Area until May, for example.)
  - twic 6y ago
    It's true that the G614 form overtook the D614 form, but that is not necessarily because it's more infectious - it could be drift and fixation. The news and views bit on that Cell paper puts it in context: https://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/S0092-8674(20)30817-5.pdf https://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/S0092-8674(20)30817-5.pdf Another study didn't find an effect on transmission: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.21.108506v4 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.21.108506v4 > The D614G mutation displays only three independent emergences that qualify for inclusion in our analyses. While this limits our power to detect a statistically significant association with transmissibility, the low number of recurrent mutations leading to the D614G allele suggests that, rather than being a driver a of transmission itself, it arose early and went up in frequency by hitchhiking with one of the deepest branches in the global phylogeny as the SARS-CoV-2 population expanded. People are still working on this, and it should become clearer in time.
kazagistar 6y ago
The European strain reinfected Asian countries, so some policy difference still seems likely.
twic 6y ago
Actual scientists i follow on Twitter are consistent in saying there is no sign of strains with different virulence. I believe this is a myth. I would be interested to see any actual research showing otherwise, if you can find it (not NYT articles!).
Jommi 6y ago
Maybe if you linked your sources here we could actually discuss it and learn something new?

by wolco 6y ago

There are two different strains. An older one based in Asia that appears weaker. A newer one found in Italy. This research came out months ago but no one is mentioning this.

crowbahr 6y ago

Was the research peer reviewed? Published in any journals? Rigorous? Documented?

networkimprov 6y ago
It was reported in the NYTimes, FWIW.
noodlenotes 6y ago
They're referring to a paper published in Cell. "Tracking changes in SARS-CoV-2 Spike: evidence that D614G increases infectivity of the COVID-19 virus" https://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/S0092-8674(20)30820-5.pdf https://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/S0092-8674(20)30820-5.pdf There's a more infectious mutation that overtakes the original form wherever it spreads, including Asia, although it's not more severe. I guess Asian countries would have an advantage because they faced the original form first and got their act together, while Europe and the East Coast of the US faced the more infectious variant early on. (The West Coast, on the other hand, started out with the original form, probably because the virus came directly from Asia. The variant didn't even show up in the Bay Area until May, for example.)
- twic 6y ago
  It's true that the G614 form overtook the D614 form, but that is not necessarily because it's more infectious - it could be drift and fixation. The news and views bit on that Cell paper puts it in context: https://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/S0092-8674(20)30817-5.pdf https://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/S0092-8674(20)30817-5.pdf Another study didn't find an effect on transmission: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.21.108506v4 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.21.108506v4 > The D614G mutation displays only three independent emergences that qualify for inclusion in our analyses. While this limits our power to detect a statistically significant association with transmissibility, the low number of recurrent mutations leading to the D614G allele suggests that, rather than being a driver a of transmission itself, it arose early and went up in frequency by hitchhiking with one of the deepest branches in the global phylogeny as the SARS-CoV-2 population expanded. People are still working on this, and it should become clearer in time.

kazagistar 6y ago

The European strain reinfected Asian countries, so some policy difference still seems likely.

twic 6y ago

Actual scientists i follow on Twitter are consistent in saying there is no sign of strains with different virulence. I believe this is a myth. I would be interested to see any actual research showing otherwise, if you can find it (not NYT articles!).

Jommi 6y ago

Maybe if you linked your sources here we could actually discuss it and learn something new?