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Viruses evolve. The virus that causes SARS-CoV-2 Covid-19, is no exception. The emergence of variants is therefore no surprise, and not every new genetic mutation poses a serious threat.
But in recent weeks, growing news coverage has begun to sound the alarm about Lambda, a variant first spotted in the US. Peru Last time of last year. Originally known as C.37, the variant quickly spread to parts of South America. On June 14, the World Health Organization designated it as “”.variant of interest”, which essentially means that experts suspect it may be more dangerous than the original type.
The prevalence of Lambda and its mutations similar to those found in many other infectious or alarming variants means it’s worth watching, the scientists said. However, much is unknown and it is not yet clear how much risk it poses.
“I think part of the interest lies in the fact that it’s a new variant and has a new name,” said Nathaniel Landau, a microbiologist at New York University Grossman School of Medicine who studies novel coronavirus variants.
Dr. “But before we know about this variant, I don’t think there is any more reason to worry,” Landau added. So far, no evidence indicates that Lambda will surpass Delta, the highly contagious variant that currently dominates much of the world. “There’s no reason to think this is anything worse than Delta anymore.”
Pablo Tsukayama, a microbiologist at Cayetano Heredia University, Peru WHO Documented the emergence of Lambda, agree. He said Latin America has “limited capacity” to conduct genomic surveillance and follow-up laboratory research of new variants. This led to a knowledge gap that fueled concerns about Lambda. “I don’t think it will be any worse than what we’ve had so far,” he said. “We only know so little that it leads to a lot of speculation.”
As of mid-June, Lambda has been reported in 29 countries, regions or territories. June 15 update The variant has been detected in 81 percent of the coronavirus samples sequenced in Peru since April and 31 percent of those in Chile to date, the agency said.
Variant accounts Less than 1 percent of samples sequenced in the United States, according to GISAID, a repository for viral genome data. Isolated cases have been reported in some other countries.
The variant contains eight important mutations, including seven, in the spike protein gene located on the surface of the virus. Some of these mutations are found in other variants and may make the virus more contagious or help the body evade the immune response.
But the big questions remain unanswered. It is not yet clear whether lambda is more contagious than other variants, causes more serious illness, or makes vaccines less effective.
“Compared to other variants, we don’t have a lot of information,” said Ricardo Soto-Rifo, a virologist working on Lambda at the University of Chile.
Preliminary laboratory studies, not yet published in peer-reviewed journals, provide both cause for concern and reassurance. In these studies, research teams Dr. Led by Soto-Rifo and Dr. Landau found that antibodies induced by Pfizer, Moderna and CoronaVac vaccines are less potent against Lambda than the original type, but they can still neutralize the virus.
The scientists said the findings show that these vaccines should still work against Lambda. Also, antibodies are not the body’s only defense against the virus; Other components of the immune system, such as T cells, may also provide protection, although they are less effective against lambda.
Dr. “This reduction in neutralizing antibodies does not mean that the effectiveness of the vaccine has decreased,” Soto-Rifo said. He said real-world studies of how well vaccines hold up against the variant are still needed.
The researchers also reported that Lambda, like several other variants, binds to cells more tightly than the original strain of the virus, which could make it more contagious.
While many questions remain, Trevor Bedford, an evolutionary biologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, said he doesn’t find Lambda as alarming as Delta and he doesn’t expect it to become that dominant globally.
“Lambda has been around for a while and has hardly ever invaded the US compared to Gamma for example” – first Brazil – “which did a pretty good job here.” “I think the whole focus should be on Delta,” he added.
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