Meniu
Asmeninė anketa Prisijungimas ir registracija
Atgal Pagrindinis » Skaniai ir Paprastai: Receptai Kiekvienam » Medical Health » 2020 » Spalio » 23

Coronavirus mutations show early safety measures and restrictions limited viral spread

Coronavirus mutations show early safety measures and restrictions limi

The coronavirus, responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, has one official name—SARS-CoV-2. But according to virologists, mutations lead to hundreds of genetically-distinct versions of the virus. Scientists at Children's Hospital Los Angeles have used these viral signatures to reveal transmission patterns, which show the effectiveness of early safety measure policies.

Scientists at Children's Hospital Los Angeles gathered an extensive pool of genomic data—information about the virus's genetic makeup—to examine transmission patterns throughout the United States since the outbreak of the pandemic. Their peer-reviewed genomic epidemiology study, which includes the largest group of U.S. samples to date, reveals that early rigorous travel restrictions and other measures to control viral transmission, especially the ones implemented in the states of Washington and California, significantly limited spread of this deadly virus. Tracking viral mutation signatures is critical to understanding how the virus behaves and mutates. This information is used by scientists and public health officials to develop effective strategies to limit the spread of COVID-19 during a second wave this fall.

Viral mutations as clues for epidemiologists

When a virus replicates, it makes copies of its genetic material. Mutations—mistakes in the copying process—occur routinely. The errors become embedded in the genome of the virus and pass along as it replicates. This means that a particular virus will evolve its own unique signature as it collects these genetic mis-copies. Each new version of the virus, identifiable by its unique combination of genetic mutations accumulated sequentially and over time, is known as a haplotype.

According to virologists and geneticists at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, SARS-CoV-2 mutates about every two weeks. Some mutations may strengthen the virus or make the disease more severe. Other mutations weaken the virus, which may cause that haplotype to die out. The vast majority of mutations are not significant and don't markedly affect the virus or the disease it causes. Nevertheless, these haplotypes are very useful to scientists for tracking the spread of the pandemic.

Each sample of SARS-CoV-2 is like a map of where it has been.

"By looking at the sequences, you can learn a lot about the virus and how it spreads," says Xiaowu Gai, Ph.D., Director of Bioinformatics in the Center for Personalized Medicine at CHLA. He explains that while it's common to refer to the virus, it isn't really one single entity.

"The virus that infects a patient in California will be different from the virus that infects a patient in Iowa because of how rapidly it mutates," he says. "If samples from patients this far away from each other don't differ, we can infer that there has been travel between the two states."

Studying the genome to understand disease spread

"Fighting a pandemic requires a highly interdisciplinary team of people," says Dr. Gai. "The world needs clinicians, virologists, pathologists and data scientists. We are so fortunate to have such a team at Children's Hospital Los Angeles that have worked hard and so well together since the beginning."

Actually, the team began their work before the beginning, when SARS-CoV-2 hadn't yet made it to the United States.

Back in February, Jennifer Dien Bard, Ph.D., could tell a pandemic was imminent. As the Director of the Clinical Microbiology and Virology Laboratory, she recognized the importance of testing and how gathering genomic information can contribute to understanding and battling a disease.

"If we underestimate mutation rate and don't know how the virus is behaving, any vaccine that is developed could be less effective," she says. As soon as possible, the team established the SARS-CoV-2 whole genome sequencing assay. "It's a test that reads out the entire gene library of the virus in each patient sample," says Dr. Dien Bard. "This gives us a lot of information fast."

Fast, in a race against a pandemic, is key.

"In those early days of the pandemic, we sprang into action," says Dr. Gai. "We wanted to develop tools to understand the transmission pattern because it makes a huge impact on how we should be dealing with the virus and the disease."

After the genomic test was developed, Dr. Gai and Dr. Dien Bard worked with Senior Research Associate Lishuang Shen, testing dozens of samples using their assay. But in order to understand how the virus spreads state to state and globally, the researchers needed many more samples from locations other than California. The team turned to the global scientific community and accessed sequence data from over 6,000 U.S. samples. From this data set, the team was able to identify hundreds of SARS-CoV-2 haplotypes.

Dr. Gai stresses that public data sharing is incredibly beneficial to studies like these. "Institutions all around the globe have been contributing SARS-CoV-2 sequence data," he says. "The scientific community has done something very important in sharing all of this information."

Clear patterns emerged from the data. Some haplotypes were found in only one state. These unique, state-specific variants provide evidence that the virus has not spread to neighboring states. Two states—Washington and California—had the highest number of unique haplotypes.

"What we've identified with this study is that the states who implemented travel restrictions and safer-at-home orders early during the pandemic were very effective in reducing spread," says Dr. Gai. "Otherwise, similar mutation signatures would be found everywhere."

Orders to stay at home, wear masks, and cancel travel have impacted viral spread. "California was one of the few states to implement these measures early on," says Dr. Dien Bard, "and I think that certainly helped."

The global COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. But data like these will give the scientific community better tools to understand the virus, which is a critical step in containing it.

"Epidemiological studies can teach us a lot about the virus," says Dr. Gai. "We will need to continue to follow safety measures—because our data show that they work."

Pasaulio naujienas kitaip... skaitykite Paranormal Telegram, FB ir X(twitter) kanale

...kadangi jau perskaitėte šį straipsnį iki pabaigos, prašome Jus prisidėti prie šio darbo. Skaitykite „Paranormal.lt“ ir toliau, skirdami kad ir nedidelę paramos sumą. Paremti galite Paypal arba SMS. Kaip tai padaryti? Iš anksto dėkojame už paramą! Nepamirškite pasidalinti patikusiais tekstais su savo draugais ir pažįstamais.

Turite savo nuomone, tapk autoriumi, prisijunk ir rašykite bloge. Dalinkitės receptais, sveikatos patarimais, nutikimais, susidūrėte su nekasdieniškais reiškiniais. Galite išversti iš užsienio kalbos, talpinkite su nuoroda. Laukiame Jūsų straipsnių, naujienų, apžvalgų ar istorijų!

Niekas neišdrįso palikti komentaro.
Būkite pirmi, kurie pasidalins savo nuomonėmis su kitais.
avatar

Nemokami skelbimai

TAIP PAT SKAITYKITE:
2025-08-09 laikas 17:40 Receptai Sluoksniuotas bulvių plokštainis (kugelis): maistinė nauda, kalorijos ir sveikesnės alternatyvos
Sužinokite apie sluoksniuoto bulvių plokštainio (kugelio) maistinę naudą, kalorijas, kaip sumažinti maistinių medžiagų praradimą ir sveikesnes alternatyvas onkologijos prevencijai. Šiame straipsnyje atsakysime į šiuos klausimus, p...

Skaityti daugiau

2025-08-09 laikas 15:40 Receptai Varškės sausainiai: maistinė nauda, kalorijos ir kaip paruošti sveiką patiekalą
Varškės sausainių nauda, kalorijos ir sveikas receptas. Sužinokite, kaip gaminti maistingą desertą, mažinantį onkologinių ligų riziką!

Skaityti daugiau

2025-08-04 laikas 07:57 Receptai Voveraitės: Maistinė Vertė, Sveikas Gaminimas ir Onkologijos Prevencija
Voveraitės – skanus ir maistingas grybas. Sužinokite jų maistinę vertę, kaip gaminti sveikai ir kaip jos gali padėti apsisaugoti nuo ligų. Šiame straipsnyje nagrinėjame voveraičių maistinę vertę, kalorijas, ką organizmas įsisavina...

Skaityti daugiau

2025-08-11 laikas 09:38 Kaip teisingai laikyti vaisius ir daržoves: mitai, nauda ir ekspertų patarimai 2025
Atraskite, kaip teisingai laikyti vaisius ir daržoves, kad jie išlaikytų šviežumą ir maistines medžiagas. Naujausi 2025 m. ekspertų patarimai! Šiame straipsnyje, remdamiesi naujausiais tyrimais iš JAV ir Europos, atskleisime mitus, pasidalinsime pata...

Skaityti daugiau

2025-08-11 laikas 09:17 Vangos pranašystės 2025: dirbtinis intelektas, klimato kaita ir geopolitinės įtampos
Šiame straipsnyje, remdamiesi naujausiais užsienio ekspertų paaiškinimais, nagrinėjame Vangos pranašysčių reikšmes, susiedami jas su dirbtinio intelekto (DI) revoliucija, klimato kaita ir geopolitinėmis įtampomis. Ieškokite daugiau apie Vangos pranaš...

Skaityti daugiau

2025-08-11 laikas 07:20 Laukinė sąmokslo teorija, Titanikas nenuskendo
Tikintieji teigia, kad vienas gigantiškas laivas buvo pakeistas kitu dėl draudimo pinigų. Štai tiesa.

Skaityti daugiau

2025-08-10 laikas 14:38 Emocinė Sveikata Terapija: Saulėlydis 4K ASMR Bangų Ošimas ir Gamtos Garsai
Pasinerk į magišką saulėlydžio prie jūros atmosferą su šiuo 4K ASMR vaizdo įrašu! Mėgaukis švelniu bangų ošimu, raminančiais jūros garsais ir kvapą gniaužiančiais paplūdimio peizažais, įrašytais stereo garsu.

Skaityti daugiau

2025-08-10 laikas 10:55 Zodiako Ženklų Poros, Kurias Sujungia Likimas: 4 Neįtikėtini Ryšiai

Išsamus gidas apie 4 Zodiako ženklų poras, kurias sujungia likimas. Sužinokite, kodėl Skorpionas ir Vėžys, Mergelė ir Ožiaragis, Dvyniai ir Vandenis bei Avinas ir Liūtas traukia vienas kitą nepaisant aplinkybių. Sužinokite, kodėl Skorpionas ir Vėž...

Skaityti daugiau