[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/7386\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ECovid-19 variants: Five things to know about how coronavirus is evolving\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHere are five things to know about the new Covid-19 variants:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Col\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe virus is always changing but occasionally makes an evolutionary leap\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ol\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhenever the Covid-19 virus infects someone, it hijacks the biological machinery of their cells to create copies of itself. Every so often the genetic material the virus carries is copied incorrectly, producing what is known as a mutation. Most of the viruses with mutations die out, but some go onto infect other cells in the body and eventually other people.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The virus is constantly evolving, so we expect to see an accumulation of changes over time,\u2019 said Dr Erik Volz, an epidemiologist who studies the evolution of infectious diseases at Imperial College London in the UK.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOccasionally, one of these genetic errors can lead to a change that is advantageous to the virus, such as enabling it to get into cells more easily, producing more copies of itself or allowing it to evade the immune response of people it infects.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEarly in the pandemic, one such mutation caused the Covid-19 virus to become more transmissible by \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0092867420315373\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Eincreasing how much virus was produced\u003C\/a\u003E by people it infected, according to research by Dr Volz and his colleagues. The change also seems to have led the virus to infect larger numbers of younger people than it had previously.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We don\u2019t know where this first arose, but it seems there were multiple occurrences of it in China and Europe,\u2019 said Dr Volz. When this version of the virus was noticed in March 2020, \u0027it was already spreading rapidly around the world,\u2019 he added.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy June, it had become the dominant variant of the virus in the pandemic. What had taken place in the virus\u2019s genome had made it \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-020-2895-3#:~:text=Abstract,efficacy%20remains%20to%20be%20defined.\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Eevolutionarily fitter than the earlier form\u003C\/a\u003E of SARS-CoV-2.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA few months later, the Covid-19 virus underwent even more dramatic changes that are having an ongoing effect on the course of the pandemic. These were new variants showing not just a single change to the spike protein, but multiple important mutations. The first of these to be detected was the B117 variant identified in samples taken in Kent, south east England, in December 2020. This new version of the virus had accumulated \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/virological.org\/t\/preliminary-genomic-characterisation-of-an-emergent-sars-cov-2-lineage-in-the-uk-defined-by-a-novel-set-of-spike-mutations\/563\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003E17 separate mutations\u003C\/a\u003E in a very short period of time and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/virological.org\/t\/lineage-specific-growth-of-sars-cov-2-b-1-1-7-during-the-english-national-lockdown\/575\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Eincreased the speed with which it spread\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018(The) appearance of the new variants were a bit surprising,\u2019 said Dr Volz. \u2018We weren\u2019t expecting B117 to pop up with such a big step change in its transmissibility.\u0027\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Col start=\u00222\u0022\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThese are variants of SARs-CoV-2, not new strains\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ol\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShortly after B117 was detected, another version of the virus with a couple of similar mutations - but also some important distinct ones - was \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.medrxiv.org\/content\/10.1101\/2020.12.21.20248640v1\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Espotted spreading in South Africa\u003C\/a\u003E and then another was \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/virological.org\/t\/genomic-characterisation-of-an-emergent-sars-cov-2-lineage-in-manaus-preliminary-findings\/586\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Efound to be spreading in Brazil\u003C\/a\u003E. These would become known as B1.351 and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.medrxiv.org\/content\/10.1101\/2021.02.26.21252554v1\u0022\u003EP1\u003C\/a\u003E respectively. Both have \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/assets.publishing.service.gov.uk\/government\/uploads\/system\/uploads\/attachment_data\/file\/954990\/s1015-sars-cov-2-immunity-escape-variants.pdf\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Emutations\u003C\/a\u003E that allow them to \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/virological.org\/t\/sars-cov-2-reinfection-by-the-new-variant-of-concern-voc-p-1-in-amazonas-brazil\/596\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Ereinfect people\u003C\/a\u003E who should have immunity \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.who.int\/docs\/default-source\/coronaviruse\/transcripts\/updates_on_covid-19_and_who-convened_global_study_of_the_origins_of_sars-cov-2_-_12feb2021.pdf?sfvrsn=aae91ec4_3\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Eafter a previous infection\u003C\/a\u003E or vaccination.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile some news reports have described these new versions of the Covid-19 virus as \u2018strains\u2019, it is more accurate to describe them as \u2018variants\u2019, says Dr Volz. Part of the problem is that a virus \u0027strain\u0027 does not have a widely accepted definition.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA variant, by comparison, is usually defined as a version of the virus that has a genetic change that differs from the original sequence when Covid-19 was identified. When it picks up a change or set of changes that form a new branch of its epidemiological family tree, this becomes known as a lineage. The word \u2018strain\u0027 is reserved for a virus that has very different properties, adds Dr Volz, such as a significant difference in the proteins it carries or changes in its behaviour.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECurrently, the variants that are causing most concern around the world are still essentially the same virus and cause the same disease, but as SARS-CoV-2 evolves it could eventually change so much compared to the original virus it may come to be regarded as a new strain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018This suggests there is some convergent evolution taking place \u2013 that they might be climbing the same (evolutionary) fitness hill.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Erik Volz, Imperial College London, UK \u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Col start=\u00223\u0022\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EChronic infection cases and higher levels of population immunity may have enabled the virus to evolve\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ol\u003E\u003Cp\u003EExactly how these variants have appeared is still unclear, but scientists have some clues. While monitoring people suffering from \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/virological.org\/t\/emergence-of-y453f-and-69-70hv-mutations-in-a-lymphoma-patient-with-long-term-covid-19\/580\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Eunusually long lasting Covid-19 infections\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013 known as chronic infections \u2013 researchers have seen the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.medrxiv.org\/content\/10.1101\/2020.12.05.20241927v2\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Evirus pick up multiple changes within individual patients\u003C\/a\u003E, including some of the mutations seen in the new variants.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe virus was able to continue replicating within their bodies for many months, picking up mutations as it did so. There are also some indications that the virus might be learning to evade certain treatments, such convalescent plasma, where antibodies are extracted from the blood of people who\u2019ve recovered from Covid-19 and given to patients who are seriously ill. \u2018That is the sort of situation we know can produce these hyper-mutated viruses as the virus would be optimising its replication within a host.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVariants like B117 may have picked up multiple mutations in a chronically ill patient in this way and then escaped out into the community by infecting someone else, adds Dr Volz.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhat has caught his attention, along with that of other virologists and epidemiologists, is that the variants appear to have picked some of the same mutations in different parts of the world at around the same time. All of the variants show multiple mutations to the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41401-020-0485-4\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Espike protein\u003C\/a\u003E, a molecule that studs the oily surface of the virus. It plays a key role in helping the virus get into cells, and is also the part being targeted by most of the vaccines.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EThere are some changes in parts of the spike protein that all of the new variants have in common, says Dr Volz. \u2018This suggests there is some convergent evolution taking place \u2013 that they might be climbing the same (evolutionary) fitness hill.\u2019\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.thelancet.com\/journals\/lancet\/article\/PIIS0140-6736(21)00183-5\/fulltext\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EIncreasing levels of immunity in some countries\u003C\/a\u003E might be causing these changes to occur independently on multiple occasions, explains Dr Volz. Natural selection will cause variants that are better adapted to evade people\u0027s immunity to become more common.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Col start=\u00224\u0022\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESequencing has played a crucial role in tracking new variants\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ol\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne key advantage during the Covid-19 pandemic compared to past pandemics is the level of scientific scrutiny that has been brought to bear on the virus thanks to genetic sequencing. Sequencing of the viral genetic code in samples taken from patients has allowed experts to track the virus as it has spread and to quickly spot new variants as they emerge.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We\u0027ve never had a genomic surveillance system like this,\u2019 said Dr Volz. \u2018I mean, a year ago, I think it would have been science fiction.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis rapid detection has allowed health authorities and governments to take rapid steps to control the spread of the variants with lockdown measures and travel restrictions, for example. \u2018The idea that within a month of a variant starting to circulate, it can be detected and then lead to a change in policy \u2013 that\u2019s really unprecedented,\u2019 said Dr Volz.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut despite this, it is also clear that the virus is \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/virological.org\/t\/tracking-the-international-spread-of-sars-cov-2-lineages-b-1-1-7-and-b-1-351-501y-v2\/592\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Estill moving quicker than the authorities are able to respond\u003C\/a\u003E. The B117 variant has now been reported in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cov-lineages.org\/global_report_B.1.1.7.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Earound 114 countries\u003C\/a\u003E while B1.351 has been detected in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cov-lineages.org\/global_report_B.1.351.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003E67 countries\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cov-lineages.org\/global_report_P.1.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EP1 in 36 countries\u003C\/a\u003E. And they might all be more widespread still as many countries do not have rigorous surveillance and sequencing available.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBecause of this, variants of concern may be spreading unnoticed, says Dr Volz.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers taking part in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/874850\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EMOOD project\u003C\/a\u003E used anonymised location data taken from Twitter and mobile phones to track the travel patterns from Britain, South Africa and Brazil between October and December 2020, the time when each of the variants of concern are thought to have begun spreading. They found a strong correlation between destinations with the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.worldpop.org\/events\/covid_variants\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Emost travellers from each of these three countries\u003C\/a\u003E and the locations where the variants were subsequently found.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018If you want to control the spread of these variants, countries need to closely monitor the genomic change of the virus,\u2019 said Dr Shengjie Lai, a senior research fellow at the University of Southampton, UK, who led the study.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Col start=\u00225\u0022\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EVaccines are already being changed to deal with variants\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ol\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ir.novavax.com\/news-releases\/news-release-details\/novavax-covid-19-vaccine-demonstrates-893-efficacy-uk-phase-3\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Esome of the Covid-19 vaccines\u003C\/a\u003E already showing \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.research.ox.ac.uk\/Article\/2021-02-07-chadox1-ncov-19-minimal-protection-against-mild-covid-19-from-b-1-351-variant-in-young-sa-adults\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Esigns of being less effective\u003C\/a\u003E against the B1.351 and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-health-coronavirus-brazil-variant-exc-idUSKBN2AX1NS\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EP1 variants\u003C\/a\u003E, some manufacturers have begun \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.pfizer.com\/news\/press-release\/press-release-detail\/pfizer-and-biontech-initiate-study-part-broad-development\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Edeveloping booster shots\u003C\/a\u003E that will give extra immunity against these versions of the virus.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut it is likely vaccines will have to be continually updated as the virus evolves. Already there are some cases in Britain of the B117 variant picking up the mutation that is thought to have been largely responsible for the ability of the virus to be resistant to antibodies in P1 and B1.351. There are other \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.berkeley.edu\/2021\/02\/04\/more-infectious-covid-variant-detected-in-berkeley\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Evariants spreading in California\u003C\/a\u003E, US, for example, that carry mutations that could lead to problems in the future by causing reinfections.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There is a growing list of variants under investigation and it is likely some of these will become variants of concern,\u2019 said Dr Volz. \u2018The virus has demonstrated it has the ability to become more transmissible and to escape from immunity. With a pretty large proportion of the population with immunity either from infection or vaccines, there\u2019s going to be much more pressure for escape variants to appear.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHis own research group has been modelling the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 to help others in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/101003653\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003ECoroNAb project\u003C\/a\u003E generate antiviral treatments against the coronavirus. If the virus changes enough to be able to avoid the immune systems of those who have received vaccines, anti-viral treatments could be a crucial way of controlling the disease until new vaccines can be developed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We can also use our travel data to see how effective certain intervention measures are,\u2019 added Dr Lai. \u2018It could help governments find the best way of not only controlling new Covid-19 variants, but other diseases in the future too.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe MOOD and CoroNAb projects are funded by the EU. If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-0njv2jrn3cpsini3osewqeaixfnrs2-ftpff1flxdi4\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-0NJv2jrN3CpsInI3OsEwqeAIXFNrS2-FtPFF1flXDI4\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]