A new version of Covid Eris is stronger....?
A study in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal found that the SARS-CoV-2 EG.5.1 variant has an advantage over other currently circulating strains in its ability to evade neutralising antibodies and infect vaccinated or previously infected individuals.
The increase in antibody resistance, according to the researchers, is only moderate and is not yet enough to completely discredit the hybrid immunity that has been developed in us. The group, which included scientists from the German Primate Centre in Gottingen, Germany, looked at the Eris sublineage EG.5.1's characteristics. They discovered that EG.5.1 is not more contagious than its forerunners, i.e., it cannot more successfully infect host cells.
However, EG.5.1 is better able to evade immunity than other SARS-CoV-2 lineages that are currently in circulation, giving it a benefit when infecting people whose immune systems have generated neutralising antibodies following vaccination or infection, the researchers said. Our immune defence depends in part on neutralising antibodies that are made by immune system cells in response to infection or vaccination. These antibodies bind to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and stop the virus from entering our cells. This process is also known as neutralisation.
click and follow Indiaherald WhatsApp channel