COVID residence permit: in which the “Russian” strain circulates | Articles
The “Russian” strain has been completely supplanted in the Russian Federation of the “Delta” coronavirus, but it can be found in the USA, Belgium, France, Germany and Great Britain.… As Izvestia was told in the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor, this line is interesting in that its share among all the genovariants of the virus grew quite rapidly immediately after its appearance, which probably indicates its increased infectivity. And the presence of the E484K mutation in the genome indicates the possibility of avoiding the immune response. However, already inferior to June this year, the share of B.1.1.523 fell sharply, the Indian line. Experts believe that it should be monitored.
Strain with Moscow registration
Now in the Russian Federation there is no longer a “Russian” strain of coronavirus, told “Izvestia” in the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor. They clarified that the genomes of this variant of SARS-CoV-2 with the date of sampling at the end of August can still be found in the GISAID database (a database where specialists from different countries post the genomic data of the pathogen). The “Russian” strain is still found in the USA, Germany, Great Britain, France, Belgium., said Kamil Khafizov, head of the group for the development of new methods for diagnosing human diseases at the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor.
Earlier, scientists from the Maastricht University Medical Center in the Netherlands published preprint, which described in detail variant B.1.1.523, characterized by many spike mutations… According to researchers, he can be dangerous because it quickly escapes the immune response… “The origin of this variant is probably Russian, since the first strain is from Moscow,” the article says.
– A significant first part of the genomes B.1.1.523 uploaded to the international database GISAID is indeed larger than the previous one from Russia, – Kamil Khafizov to Izvestia. – A little later, this strain began to be found in other countries, in particular, in Germany, Latvia and even Australia. The specialists of our institute, who are special samples for sequencing in Moscow, began to detect this strain somewhere in February 2021.
Mutations and Deletions
The “Russian” line is interesting in that among all the genovariants of the coronavirus it grew rather quickly immediately after its appearance, which probably indicates its increased infectivity, said the specialists of Rosptorebnadzor. Already in April-May, the share of B.1.1.523 in Moscow was about 50%, and at the same time, other significant strains – “Alpha” and “Beta”, were actively spreading.
“The B.1.1.523 strain has the E484K mutation, which is present in Beta, Gamma, and a number of other genovariants,” Kamil Khafizov said. “And this genomic change was in part responsible for the slightly reduced effectiveness of neutralizing antibodies. There is also a deletion (clipping) of three amino acids in the S-protein, while Delta is missing two in the same place. In addition to these two listed genomic changes, there are many others, including those inherent in other genovariants.
The presence of the E484K mutation in the genome does indicate that this variant may have the ability to evade the immune response. However, in June, the share of B.1.1.523 fell sharply, and interest in him was quickly lost. Ultimately, the most widespread was “Delta”…
– Yet in August we observed some rare samples of this strain, but already in September I don’t even remember when it was found among batches of sequenced samples, – noted Kamil Khafizov.
Downed pilot
At the moment, “Delta” remains the dominant strain in Russia, Director of the Scientific and Clinical Center for Precision and Regenerative Medicine of the Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology of Kazan Federal University Albert Rizvanov told Izvestia. And it is very difficult to predict the infectious parameters of the future leaders of this race, he added.
– The ultimate measure of the danger of a particular strain is the spread of the virus in the population., – said the expert in a conversation with Izvestia.
In comparison with the original coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the “Russian” version contains a number of amino acid substitutions, Sergei Netesov, Professor, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Head of the Laboratory of Biotechnology and Virology at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Novosibirsk State University, told Izvestia. But most of the replacements have already been encountered in other variants.
– It is still not widely used in comparison with the options “Alpha” – “Delta”, then WHO still refers it to the lowest in importance group of options, – the expert noted. – In the preprint of the article The authors from the Netherlands suggest that it is worth considering moving it to the next, more convenient group options option, but they do not insist on this. Although it is worth watching specifically for this.
The “Russian” strain is not interesting and could quickly fill both Russia and other states, if not for the “Indian brother”, experts say. As told in the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, in fact, B.1.1.523 was almost the last, which somehow competed with the “Delta”, but completely “lost” and now belongs rather to the disappearing strains.
Earlier, Anna Speranskaya, head of the genomics and post-genomic technologies group at the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor, told Izvestia that at the beginning of September 2021, Delta and several lines branching from it, mainly AY.12 and AY.4, dominated the country.