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Dec 30, 2020 · SARS-CoV-2 spreads primarily through human-to-human transmission, but there is evidence of transmission between humans and animals. Several animals like mink, dogs, domestic cats, lions, tigers and raccoon dogs have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 after contact with infected humans.
- When a virus replicates or makes copies of itself, it sometimes changes a little bit. These changes are called “mutations.” A virus with one or sev...
- It is normal for viruses to change, but it is still something scientists follow closely because there can be important implications. All viruses, i...
- Since the start of the outbreak, WHO has been working with a global network of expert laboratories around the world to support testing and better u...
Jan 9, 2022 · Ayesha Rascoe talks with biologist Jennie Lavine from biotech firm Karius about how viruses evolve, why they tend to become weaker over time, and what this means for the coronavirus.
Sep 9, 2021 · Here, we review recent advances in the study of within-host bacterial evolution during human infection and discuss practical considerations for conducting such studies. We focus on 2 possible outcomes for de novo adaptive mutations, which we have termed “adapt-and-live” and “adapt-and-die.”
- Matthew J Culyba, Daria Van Tyne
- 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009872
- 2021
- PLoS Pathog. 2021 Sep; 17(9): e1009872.
During the waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, people often wonder about the future of the virus and its effect on us. One such effect in the spotlight these days is the evolution of virulence, the hereditary change in the relative ability of an infectious agent to cause disease.
- 10.1007/s42977-023-00159-2
- 2023 Mar
- Biol Futur. 2023 Mar 31 : 1-12.
- Antigenic Variation
- Covid-19’S Waves Are Similar to Sleeping Sickness
- Antibodies and Illness
Trypanosomes live in the bloodstream of its mammalian hosts (including humans) and early observations of their numbers showed a consistent wave-like pattern of increases followed by declining numbers and then, after a week or so, rising numbers again. Trypanosomes are vulnerable to the antibodies produced by their host’s immune system, which bind t...
I am reminded of the growth curve of trypanosomes when looking at the pattern of Canadian case counts from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The peaks in cases reflect the arrival of new variants, the most recent of which is omicron, the variant now circulating most widely globally. The strategy used by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is s...
Given the capacity of SARS-CoV-2 to mutate, there are certainly new variants arising continuously. However, if medical and public health interventions are successful in reducing transmission between infected and uninfected/unvaccinated people, it is quite possible that the virus will evolve to generate a less virulent variant that could establish i...
Jul 19, 2023 · The salient features of this family of viruses are that immunity against infection is short‐lived, while immunity against severe disease is long‐lived and therefore typically acquired upon first infection; furthermore, there is a seasonal pattern to transmissibility.
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Dec 11, 2003 · The probability that the pathogen evolves and a secondary infection is caused by the mutant is equal to µ for each of the secondary infections (we note that µ incorporates not only...
