The Dreaded Topic
Since the beginning of 2020, we have all been dealing with this dreaded pandemic. Now, in the beginning, we thought it would never affect us. Little did we know that two years later we would still be fighting this virus. From lockdowns, to mask mandates, to vaccines, as a society we are trying every prevention method to slow the spread of COVID-19. Most people in the United States are not very educated when it comes to what this virus consists of, how infectious the virus is, and why it is important for everyone to be vaccinated in order to slow the spread of Covid. It is important to research potential hazards especially viruses as rampant as Covid, and to understand what we are dealing with as a nation and even in the world.
What Is COVID-19?
Covid, more specifically known in the scientific world as SARS-CoV-2 stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. This virus is a single-stranded RNA enveloped virus. As many of you may have heard on the news, COVID-19 started in China with bats. Now, you may be questioning if this information is true. Yes, in fact, this is accurate. The Coronavirus is what we refer to as a zoonotic disease, meaning it is a disease that is transmitted from an animal to a human. Many of the common signs and symptoms that we see with Covid include headache, running nose, cough, loss of taste or smell, and any over standard cold-like indicators. With that being said, SARS-CoV-2 has a mortality rate is somewhat concerning. The New York Times presents us with many striking numbers that open our eyes to how serious this pandemic is. The data below shows the number of cases and the number of deaths in North Carolina alone, since the start of COVID-19.
| CASES | DEATHS |
| 2.5 Million | 21,335 |
Various Variants
If you have recently been watching the news you have heard that COVID-19 is rapidly mutating and developing different strains. So far, we have the original strain, the Delta variant, and the more prominent strain that we are seeing now is the Omicron BA.2. Even though these are the three main variants that are common knowledge to society, Nature reports that there are many more variants of the original strain of SARS-CoV-2.
We found 115 mutations estimated to be present in more than 3% of global COVID-19 cases
This data shows that the rate of mutation of SARS-CoV-2 is rapid and it will continue to mutate. Many things can drive this rate of mutation. First, the SARS-CoV-2 virus is a spiked protein. This is a virulence factor that allows the virus to attach to the host cell and infect it. Also, with many of the positive COVID-19 cases that we are seeing, many people do not show any symptoms, which is referred to as asymptomatic. This aspect aids in the rapid spread of this virus. To add to that, the R0 or R naught determines the severity of a virus and how many people are infected by one person. Compared to other forms of MERS and SARS viruses, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, SARS-CoV-2 has the highest R0, being 5.7.
The Delta variant is more infectious than the original, and the Omicron variant is even more infectious than the Delta variant. The reason for this virus mutation is the spiked protein that I discussed earlier. Johns Hopkins Medicine explains this. This article also explains that the mutation occurs in the genes of the virus. What is the effect of these mutations? As previously discussed it is causing the virus to spread more quickly, and we also see that some of the variants can be linked to causing more severe disease in the infected person. Most recently it has been discovered that the Omicron variant has an infectious dose of 1. The infectious dose is the number of organisms needed to infect 50% of humans. Therefore, the lower the infectious dose the easier it is for a person to become infected.
Researchers have preliminary evidence that some of the new variants seem to bind more tightly to our cells,” Bollinger says. “This appears to make some of these new strains ‘stickier’ due to changes in the spike protein and therefore more easily transmitted.
What Can You Do?
The best way to combat this virus is to keep following the suggestions given by our health officials. Remember to wear a mask, practice social distancing, wash your hands, and stay safe overall. It is also important to get vaccinated against COVID-19, for research shows it does have a positive impact on the rate of transmission and the severity of the disease.
All Things Microbiology 