COVID-19 genetic mutation likely made disease more contagious: Study

A study on SARS-COV-2 patients has revealed that the virus that causes the disease is acquiring genetic mutations, one of which may have made it more contagious. According to the study published in the medical journal mBIO, the mutation that may be making the disease more infectious is named D614G. The particular mutation is found in the spike protein that pries open out cells for viral entry, the study said. 

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Most dominant mutation

The study, conducted on 5,000 patients in the United States, revealed that the virus is mutating because of the pressure from our immune response and also because of the random genetic changes. According to the study, at the start of the first wave of the pandemic, only 71 percent of the subjects had this mutation, however, as the second wave approached, 99.9 percent showed having the mutation. 

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According to the study, a July research based on over 28,000 genome sequences showed that the majority of the variants carried the D614G mutation, making the most dominant form of the virus worldwide. The study said that the D614G mutation became more dominant because of its tendency to spread quicker than other forms of SARS-COV-2 viruses. Another study of 25,000 genome sequences also revealed that the mutation tends to transmit faster than other variants. 

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The study also confirmed that the mutation doesn't make the disease more severe or less potent. The researchers said that the virus is continuing to mutate and a global study like theirs will help scientists make a vaccine that is safe and effective. As per the study, a total of 285 mutations have been found so far, however, none of them appeared to be making the disease more severe. 

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