A new study published in Frontiers in Virology has revealed that the evolution of the SARS-Cov-2 virus from its regular transmission is of less concern in comparison to the coronavirus variants from chronic, long-covid patients. Scientists have warned that coronavirus variants from long-covid patients can be more deadly. The experts have warned that some immune-compromised people, such as those taking medication for other chronic disorders, may have carried active COVID infections for a year or even longer. Hence, it′s critical to identify these people, treat them, and conduct genomic surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 viruses that they carry.

Dr. Daniel Weissman, a professor of biology and physics at Emory University in the US, stated that viruses like SARS-CoV-2 continuously evolve due to occasional mutations in the genetic code that may occur when they replicate. He added that when a virus copies itself, it doesn′t always make perfect copies. Dr. Mahan Ghafari, the first author of the paper and a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Oxford, added that the key take-home message of the study is that it is important to find these individuals who are chronically infected and provide support for them to recover. He added that in many cases, they may be asymptomatic and not even realise that they are infected with COVID although they are actively shedding the virus.

The World Health Organization dubbed three variants of concern alpha, beta, and gamma. The researchers have built a mechanistic, theoretical model to study the problem. The resulting model has ruled out the theory that the variants of concern emerged from the sustained transmission of acute infections. On the other hand, the model fully supported the theory that each variant evolved within a single individual with a chronic infection.

(Source: https://www.indiatvnews.com/health/covid-chronic-patients-can-trigger-more-lethal-variants-says-study-2022-08-24-802602 )