Deadly Wuhan Coronavirus

August

Metanoia
The Coronavirus Is Mutating. What Does That Mean for Us?

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AD1184

Celestial
It seems that the British government has managed to persuade France to re-instate RORO ferry traffic across the Channel. The French government likely came to the realization that, by their earlier decision, they had stranded thousands of European hauliers, including their own, in Britain.
 

nivek

As Above So Below
Temple student thought her COVID-19 was mild. Then came heart failure: ‘It was horrible.’

Maddie Neville contracted COVID-19 in October while living in an apartment off-campus near Temple University. She developed only mild symptoms — some coughing, plus she couldn’t smell or taste anything.

After quarantining and feeling back to her usual healthy self, Neville traveled home to Gouldsboro, in Monroe County, for Thanksgiving, the coronavirus seeming a thing of the past.

But while there, Neville found herself gasping for breath and gripped by intense chest pain. She had tested negative for COVID-19 before returning home, so she assumed the symptoms were unrelated. After a trip to an urgent care center and two hospitals, her condition worsened.

“My limbs started to tingle and I passed out,” Neville said. “I woke up and there were 16 doctors and nurses standing around me screaming.”

She was airlifted Dec. 2 to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where doctors diagnosed her with congestive heart failure brought on by complications of COVID-19.

Neville, who turns 21 Monday, is now back at her parents’ house recovering, but still fighting the physical and psychological effects of severe inflammation that left her heart pumping at 10% of its capacity.

(More on the link)

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nivek

As Above So Below
Mutation in New U.K. COVID Strain Found in Brazil Last Spring, Now in Four Countries

A genetic mutation within a new coronavirus strain recently detected in the U.K. was first spotted in Brazil all the way back in April.

Scientists in the U.K. have identified a new strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, that is reportedly significantly more transmissible than the original based on early evidence—although it does not appear to cause a more severe form of the disease.

Viruses mutate all the time, and this new strain—dubbed the "B.1.1.7 lineage" or "VUI–202012/01"—contains 23 separate mutations in its genetic code.


One of the mutations—known as "N501Y"—was detected in Brazil as far back as April, Dr. Julian Tang, a clinical virologist from the University of Leicester, U.K., told Newsweek.

"The N501Y mutation was circulating independently and separately in Brazil in April, 2020, and in the U.S. and Australia in June-July, 2020," Tang said.

This mutation affects the spike proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which enable it to latch onto human cells and break in, causing disease.


Scientists think this specific mutation in combination with the others detected in the new strain may be working together to make the variant more transmissible—perhaps up to 70 percent more, according to early estimates.

"When you put various mutations together, the combination can have a different effect," Peter Horby, chairman of the U.K. government's New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group, told The Telegraph.

"Any single one of those may have been seen elsewhere, like N501Y, but this constellation of multiple mutations would appear to be very new."


The new SARS-CoV-2 virus B.1.1.7 strain—containing the N501Y mutation—was first detected in the southeast of England in September and is spreading fast in the region, with scientists estimating that it may account for 60 percent of all new infections.

The strain has also been detected in other parts of the U.K. and a handful of cases have now also been confirmed in Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Italy and the British overseas territory of Gibraltar—located on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula—in recent weeks.

There are also unconfirmed reports that the new strain is present in Belgium, while it may also be circulating undetected in France and South Africa, officials have suggested.


More than 40 countries around the world have now introduced temporary bans on arrivals from the U.K. in order to prevent the spread of the new strain.

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AD1184

Celestial
I understand that Britain does a lot of genomic surveillance of the virus strains in circulation, perhaps more than any other country. This article says that the US does almost none, and presumably does not have a formalized system of regular genomic surveillance. Given Britain's prolific genomic surveillance, it is not really surprising that it should be the first to detect a new mutation. Most other countries are not paying any where near the same attention.
 

nivek

As Above So Below
I understand that Britain does a lot of genomic surveillance of the virus strains in circulation, perhaps more than any other country. This article says that the US does almost none, and presumably does not have a formalized system of regular genomic surveillance. Given Britain's prolific genomic surveillance, it is not really surprising that it should be the first to detect a new mutation. Most other countries are not paying any where near the same attention.

That's a good point, I haven't heard much from the US side of things on screening and surveillance of mutated strains of covid, this new strain could be circulating in my country already causing the spikes in new cases...

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That's a good point, I haven't heard much from the US side of things on screening and surveillance of mutated strains of covid, this new strain could be circulating in my country already causing the spikes in new cases...
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We needed a global policy implementing martial law on the grounds of national emergencies as soon as we saw that this virus had penetrated into every major nation on Earth. That would've halted the pandemic, and prevented any further significant mutations like this one. But instead our "leaders" minimized the crisis in order to protect corporate profits, while US citizens railed about their "freedoms" like a bunch of gibbering baboons.

1.7 million deaths in the last 9 months. One month of global lock-down could've defeated this virus before it killed all of those people and mutated into several new variants along the way.
 

nivek

As Above So Below
There's yet another new strain coming out of South Africa, Ugh....


South African Covid-19 variant may be 'more effective at spreading'

The South African variant of Covid-19, two cases of which have now been detected in the UK, is likely to be more transmissible, may hit young people harder, and may be slightly more resistant to vaccines, scientists in South Africa believe.

However, research is still continuing to confirm the threat posed by the variant, which does not appear to provoke more serious symptoms or require different treatment.

There are also some fears that the more numerous individual mutations of the South African variant may make it able to “re-infect” individuals who have already caught the virus and recovered.

Scientists in South Africa are still working “calmly and methodically” to fully understand the new variant, known as 501Y.V2. Data on the South African variant, which has swept across a swath of the country, has already been compared by scientists to the UK variant detected last week.

“Putting our data together with that in the UK, this [South African] variant is a bit more effective at spreading from person to person and that is not good. It means we have to get a bit better at stopping it,” said Dr Richard Lessells, one of the specialists leading research into the new variant in South Africa.

“Ours raises a few more concerns for a vaccine [than the UK variant] … Another worry is reinfection. We are currently doing the careful, methodical work in the laboratory to answer all the questions we have and that takes time.”

The mutations detected in new South African variant may allow the virus to better bind to and enter cells than previous variants, potentially easing transmission, scientists say.

The new variant was discovered through routine surveillance by a network of laboratories around South Africa, and found in almost 200 samples collected from more than 50 different health facilities. Originally confined to coastal regions, the variant is now spreading inland.

The new variant has multiple changes in the spike protein, the part of the virus that binds to cells inside the human body and that is also the main target for many of the antibodies produced during infection or after vaccination. Scientists have isolated one particular mutation – N501Y, common to both the new UK variant and that from South Africa – which they believe is important to its ability to spread fast.

(More on the link)

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nivek

As Above So Below
First coronavirus cases hit Antarctica

The pandemic has reached every continent on Earth.

Chilean authorities announced that at least 58 people at two military bases in Antarctica, or on a navy ship that went to the continent, tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

So far, no other country with a presence in Antarctica has publicly reported other cases.

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There are 36 coronavirus cases at the Gen. Bernardo O’Higgins Riquelme Antarctic base, Chile says. (Google Street View) (Google Street View)


Chile’s army announced Monday that 36 people at the Gen. Bernardo O’Higgins Riquelme Antarctic base tested positive, and on Tuesday, the health minister for the Biobio region in Chile said there are 21 infections involving people aboard the Chilean navy’s Sergeant Aldea supply vessel.

One more case was reported in Las Estrellas’ village, where civilian personnel working at the Lt. Rodolfo Marsh Martin Air Force Base live, said Eduardo Castillo, regional health secretary for the Magallanes area, which oversee Chilean operations in the Antarctic. The Sargento Aldea ship docked at that village, he added.

The army said the first group of 36 people includes 26 members of the military and 10 civilian employees of a maintenance contract company. It said none so far had shown complications.

Michelle Rogan-Finnemore, executive secretary of the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs, said in a statement that the office received a report from the Chilean Antarctic Institute on Friday about positive cases aboard the Sergeant Aldea vessel "who would have disembarked in the ports of Punta Arenas and Talcahuano" on Chilean mainland.

"We have yet to receive further formal information," she added.

The first three people on the Sergeant Aldea vessel tested positive last week and all 208 crewmembers are being quarantined aboard that ship, according to the navy. It said the vessel had serviced the base on the Trinity Peninsula between Nov. 27 and Dec. 10.

The U.S. National Science Foundation, the agency overseeing U.S. programs in Antarctica, said it was aware of the reports of positive cases in passengers aboard the Sergeant Aldea.

"Personnel at U.S. Antarctic Program stations have had no interactions with the Chilean stations in question or the personnel who reside there," the foundation said. "NSF remains committed to not exchanging personnel or accepting tourists at USAP stations."

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nivek

As Above So Below
England halts flights from South Africa as coronavirus variant spreads

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s transport minister said he had ordered flights and arrivals from South Africa to be halted after a potentially more infectious variant of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 had spread to Britain.

“I’ve taken the decision to temporarily stop flights and arrivals entering England from South Africa from 9am tomorrow following an outbreak of a new strain of coronavirus,” Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said.


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nivek

As Above So Below
Here are the latest numbers from worldometer, the top 22 countries sorted by new cases today...I would any jump in new cases be attributed to these two new variants spreading around?...I would assume so...

worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

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nivek

As Above So Below
This new South African variant is a little disturbing, it sounds like its a step up on the UK variant, with both coming from the same mutation this may be only the beginning...

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nivek

As Above So Below
Yet another new COVID-19 variant seems to have developed, this one in Nigeria

Nairobi, Kenya — Another new variant of the coronavirus appears to have emerged in Nigeria, Africa's top public health official said Thursday, but he added that further investigation was needed.

The discovery could add to new alarm in the pandemic after similar variants were announced in Britain and South Africa, leading to the swift return of international travel restrictions and other measures just as the world enters a major holiday season.

"It's a separate lineage from the U.K. and South Africa," the head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, John Nkengasong, told reporters. He said the Nigeria CDC and the African Center of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases in that country - Africa's most populous - will be analyzing more samples.

"Give us some time. ... It's still very early," he said.

The alert about the apparent new variant was based on two or three genetic sequences, he said, but that and South Africa's alert late last week were enough to prompt an emergency meeting of the Africa CDC this week.

The variant was found in two patient samples collected on Aug. 3 and on Oct. 9 in Nigeria's Osun state, according to a working research paper seen by The Associated Press.

Unlike the variant seen in the U.K., "we haven't observed such rapid rise of the lineage in Nigeria and do not have evidence to indicate that the P681H variant is contributing to increased transmission of the virus in Nigeria. However, the relative difference in scale of genomic surveillance in Nigeria vs the U.K. may imply a reduced power to detect such changes," the paper says.

The news comes as infections surge again in parts of the African continent.

The new variant in South Africa is now the predominant one there, Nkengasong said, as confirmed infections in the country approach 1 million. While the variant transmits quickly and viral loads are higher, it is not yet clear whether it leads to a more severe disease, he said.

"We believe this mutation will not have an effect" on the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines to the continent, he said of the South Africa variant.

South Africa's health minister late Wednesday announced an "alarming rate of spread" in that country, with more than 14,000 new cases confirmed in the past day, including more than 400 deaths. It was the largest single-day increase in cases.

The country has more than 950,000 infections and COVID-19 is "unrelenting," Health Minister Zwelini Mkhize said.

The African continent now has more than 2.5 million confirmed cases, or 3.3% of global cases. Infections across the continent have risen 10.9% over the past four weeks, Nkengasong said, including a 52% increase in Nigeria and 40% increase in South Africa.


Nigeria now has more than 80,000 confirmed coronavirus cases.

For the first time since confirming sub-Saharan Africa's first virus case in February, Nigeria is in the spotlight during this pandemic as infections surge.

"Over recent weeks, we've had a huge increase in number of samples to (Nigeria CDC) reference lab," the CDC director-general Chikwe Ihekweazu tweeted on Thursday. "This has led to an unusual delay with testing, but we're working around the clock," with many colleagues cutting short their holidays and returning to work.

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