Category: Recombination
Mexico: Patient coinfected with MU and Delta Covid variants at the same time
The governor of the state of Hidalgo, Mexico, reported that the Ministry of Health has detected the presence of COVID-19 Delta and Mu variants in the same patient. The state president assured that it is an unprecedented event in Mexico, since the two variants had never been detected in the same case of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
The finding was confirmed by the Institute for Epidemiological Diagnosis and Reference (INDRE) of the federal Ministry of Health, as well as by a third laboratory.
La secretaría de @Salud_Hidalgo ha detectado la presencia de las cepas Delta y Mu en el estado. Derivado de diferentes análisis a través del #INDRE de @SSalud_mx y un tercer laboratorio se detectaron ambas variantes en 1 mismo paciente, hecho inédito hasta el momento en México.
— Omar Fayad (@omarfayad) October 16, 2021
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Denmark: It is too dangerous to resume mink breeding in 2022
It is still risky to have mink breeding in Denmark in 2020. This is the assessment from Denmark’s SSI, the Statens Serum Institut.
In an email response to the parliamentary parties, which TV 2 has seen, it appears that SSI still stands by the previous risk assessment , which they broadcast on 14 June this year.
It stated that “keeping mink in Denmark after 2021 may entail a health risk for people of unknown size”, and it is thus this health risk which, SSI believes, is still present in mink breeding.
The email states that “the conclusions of the health professional assessment of the risk to human health in the event of a resumption of mink keeping after 2021 of 14 June 2021 remain valid.”
TV2nord report (In Danish)
* * Thankfully someone in Europe still has their eye on the ball **
Last year:
#Coronavirus infected mink spilled over 12 miles of road in Denmark
WHO: Vaccines won’t save us. We’ll have to learn to live with the virus
The World Health Organization has thrown in the towel and surrendered to Covid. The WHO have finally realised that Covid-19 vaccines aren’t going to save our asses, and they are now recommending that governments around the world learn to live with the virus. Yes, that’ll be the same virus that has already killed millions, disabled tens of millions, and infected hundreds of millions. Sars-CoV-2 is apparently something we can learn to live with though, just like the ebola virus, or polio, or smallpox, or the bubonic plague.
Welcome to the new normal!
Dr Hans Kluge: “I think it brings us to the point that the aim of a vaccination is first and foremost to prevent more serious disease, and that’s mortality. If we consider that Covid will continue to mutate and remain with us, the way influenza is, then we should anticipate how to gradually adapt our vaccination strategy to endemic transmission and gather really precious knowledge about the impact of additional jabs,” he added.
Hans Kluge quotes from The Straitstimes.com article
The Daily Mail has gone into meltdown over this one: “Covid vaccines won’t end pandemic and officials must now ‘gradually adapt strategy’ to cope with inevitable spread of virus, World Health Organization official warns“
** Just to be clear, there will be NO mild “endemic” phase of Sars-CoV-2. Throwing in the towel now will condemn hundreds of millions to die because we haven’t got the backbone to make the sacrifices necessary. **
Generation and subsequent transmission of recombinant Sars-CoV-2 viruses within the community
A recent study found evidence for multiple independent recombination events of Sars-CoV-2 viruses sampled from late 2020 to early 2021 in the UK. Researchers identified 16 recombinant genome sequences within the COG-UK dataset, and found evidence for four instances of onward transmission of a recombinant virus, including one lineage which circulated for at least nine weeks and resulted in a cluster of 45 associated COVID-19 infections.
These recombinant viruses carry many of the single nucleotide polymorphisms (substitution of a single nucleotide at a specific position in the genome) and deletions (mutation involving the loss of genetic material) that are characteristic of the B.1.1.7 variant of concern, now known as Alpha. However, part of these viruses’ genomes also share genetic variation identical to SARS-CoV-2 variants other than Alpha that were simultaneously circulating in the same geographic area.
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
Preprint: generation and transmission of recombinant SARS-CoV-2 viruses
We present evidence for multiple independent origins of recombinant SARS-CoV-2 viruses sampled from late 2020 and early 2021 in the United Kingdom. Their genomes carry single nucleotide polymorphisms and deletions that are characteristic of the B.1.1.7 variant of concern, but lack the full complement of lineage-defining mutations. Instead, the remainder of their genomes share contiguous genetic variation with non-B.1.1.7 viruses circulating in the same geographic area at the same time as the recombinants.
280 cases of Delta variant with N501Y, some with E484K too
Delta + Alpha + Beta + Gamma recombinant variant found in Turkey.
I'm observing some interesting development in Turkey since some weeks. Since 28/7/2021 of about 3.200 Turkish GISAID sequences around 280 are showing Delta with additional mutations: N501Y known from Alpha and E484K from Beta/Gamma.
This could mean even higher transmissibility
— Gönndalf (@drallcome) August 15, 2021
Image by Elliot Alderson from Pixabay
USA: All captive mink in Oregon must be vaccinated by 31st August 2021
By August 31, 2021, any person holding captive mink in Oregon must vaccinate all captive mink on their premises against the SARS-CoV-2 virus using an approved vaccine according to all vaccine manufacturer instructions. Any captive mink born or imported after August 31, 2021 must be vaccinated within 120 days of the birth of any captive mink, or within 60 days of the date that any captive mink are imported into Oregon.
SURVEILLANCE TESTING FOR SARS-COV-2 IN MINK
Any person holding captive mink in Oregon must participate in surveillance testing for SARS-CoV-2 according to guidelines established by the Oregon Department of Agriculture in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Oregon Department of Agriculture Statement
** We know that vaccines don’t prevent transmission of, or infection by, the Delta variant of Sars-CoV-2. It’s unlikely that vaccinating mink will prevent mutations of the virus being created either. Not destroying these animals is a huge and unnecessary risk to humanity. Ed.**
Mink: 100% infection, recovery and then 75% re-infection of farmed mink
Shi Zhengli: We need to learn to live with the virus
Shi Zhengli, China’s ‘Bat Woman’, has said that new variants of Sars-Cov-2 will continue to emerge, but that vaccines are ‘effective’. “We shouldn’t panic, but we need to prepare to co-exist with the virus in the long term,” Shi told media on Wednesday.
Dominic Minghella on “Learning to live with Covid”
"Learn to live with the virus" either means nothing, or it means, "Learn to be quiet about the unnecessary deaths of your loved ones, friends, and compatriots."
Ain't gonna happen.
— Dominic Minghella (@DMinghella) August 1, 2021
This 👆 👆 👆
UK SAGE Bombshell Report: The Long Term Evolution of Sars-CoV-2
Scenario One: A variant that causes severe disease in a greater proportion of the population than has occurred to date. Scenario Two: A variant that evades current vaccines. Scenario Three: Emergence of a drug resistant variant after anti-viral strategies. Scenario Four: SARS-CoV-2 follows an evolutionary trajectory with decreased virulence.
Scenario One: A variant that causes severe disease in a greater proportion of the population than has occurred to date. For example, with similar morbidity/mortality to other zoonotic coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV (~10% case fatality) or MERS-CoV (~35% case fatality).
Likelihood of increased severity phenotype: Realistic possibility.
Scenario Two: A variant that evades current vaccines. This could be caused by: Antigenic ‘shift’: Natural recombination events that insert a different spike gene sequence (or partial sequence) from human CoVs MERS-CoV (highly unlikely due to the low frequency of MERS-CoV infections), or from currently circulating endemic human CoVs (more likely due to the prevalence of these viruses). This would recombine into the ‘body’ of SARS-CoV-2 that is capable of high replication in human cells. The consequence could be a virus that causes disease at a level similar to COVID-19 when it first emerged but against which our current battery of spike glycoprotein-based vaccines would not work.
Likelihood: Realistic possibility.
Scenario Three: Emergence of a drug resistant variant after anti-viral strategies. This could be caused by: Emergence of new variants following the administration of directly acting antiviral therapies. As we begin to use directly acting antiviral drugs it is highly likely a variant will be selected that had resistance to individual agents. For example, drugs that target the viral 3C protease, drugs that target the polymerase, monoclonal antibodies that target the spike glycoprotein. If the drugs are used as a mono therapy, then resistant variants have a high probability of emerging. This may render all drugs in that category unusable.
Likelihood: Likely – unless the drugs are used correctly.
Scenario Four: SARS-CoV-2 follows an evolutionary trajectory with decreased virulence. This could be caused by: Variants arising with increased transmissibility but decreased pathogenesis/virulence as the virus becomes fully adapted to the human host becoming an endemic infection. Coupled with the likelihood of eventual high populations immunity the infection produces less disease. In other words, this virus will become like other human CoV that causes common colds, but with much less severe disease predominantly in the old or clinically vulnerable.
Likelihood: Unlikely in the short term, realistic possibility in the long term.
Download the entire report here
So what is Plan B if the vaccines fail with a new #coronavirus super-variant?
Kit Yates on “We have to learn to live with the virus”
What do the people who say “learn to live with the virus” actually mean?
They mean: fail to learn any of the lessons of the last 18 months, fail to mitigate against the spread of the virus and tolerate avoidable deaths and disease burden.
I’d rather we didn’t.
— Kit Yates (@Kit_Yates_Maths) July 30, 2021
Over to you Kirsty….
Israel: We have to learn to live with Covid
“We all need to change our thinking and draw a road map for living with Covid,” says Dr. Manfred Green. We disagree, and we will be explaining why we disagree in a post later.
Editors note: This report comes just 48 hours after our warning that Boris Johnson’s government was proposing to his countrymen that they should also “learn to live with Covid” (see original post below).
Have you ever wondered what happens when you search for “We have to learn to live with Ebola”? Try it.
It’s an idea so insane that only one person in recorded history has actually written it down.
We have to learn to live with Covid.
“Learning to live with Covid” will be coming to your country soon. Be prepared.
Boris Johnson tells Britons to “learn to live with Covid”
English Freedom Day: Lions led by Zombies
A short reminder of what happened after “Freedom Day” was announced in the Czech Republic on July 2nd 2020:
Covid-19 cases after “Freedom Day” in the Czech Republic in 2020:
Covid-19 deaths after “Freedom Day” in the Czech Republic in July 2020:
English Freedom Day – Lions led by Zombies.