Coronavirus Showing Resistance To Antivirals

Coronavirus Showing Resistance To Earlier Antivirals, Seems To be Evolving


"Also in the initial stages of the breakout, doctors at Wuhan General Hospital, after testing with numerous HIV antivirals and even influenza antivirals and combinations, developed their own treatment protocol by using a combo of antivirals such as opinavir and ritonavir along with nebulized alpha-interferon and it worked on most of the patients, as progress and recovery could be seen. However off late, the same treatment protocol does not seem to work anymore and many patients are displaying signs that resistance has been developed, with some regressing into a worse state, indicating that the coronavirus has started to developing an antiviral resistance to these drugs."

"As typically such respiratory viruses are normally transmitted thru the mouth via coughing in which minute droplets are exposed. If a person is not showing any symptoms, then the only possible means is through the exhaled air of the infected individual, which implies that the virus is an extremely potent airborne pathogen."

"Furthermore it is now seen that many younger patients without any underlying medical conditions are also progressing into critical conditions after contracting the coronavirus and some even dying. Among the new deaths reported, there are already patients as young as 27 years of age having died from the coronavirus in Hubei without any underlying disease."

https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/la...e-evolving

On the 27th Of January, Dr Nancy Messonnier, head of respiratory diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) commented that coronavirus was not mutating. (Source: Medical Express)

Dr Kristian Andersen, an infectious-disease researcher at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California on the 31st of January also made a comment that the coronavirus is not capable of mutating to become more potent. (Source: The Nature)

Many other so called experts also made similar comments during the last two weeks.

However, many new research studies by Chinese researchers and also new developments are confirming a different scenario.

Virology specialists from the Institut Pasteur of Shanghai in two different studies have confirmed that the coronavirus is mutating and becoming more virulent.

The first has already been published in the journal of National Science Review on the 29th of January (refer to url link below) while a second is to be published this week, also in the same journal.

The virology researchers studying a cluster of coronavirus infections within a family in the southern province of Guangdong said the genes of the virus went through some significant changes as it spread within the family.

Viruses mutate all the time, but most changes are synonymous or “silent”, having little effect on the way the virus behaves. Others, known as nonsynonymous substitutions, can alter biological traits, allowing them to adapt to different environments.

Two nonsynonymous changes took place in the viral strains isolated from the family, according to the study by Professor Cui Jie and colleagues at the Institut Pasteur of Shanghai.

This case indicated “viral evolution may have occurred during person-to-person transmission”, they wrote in the paper published in the journal National Science Review on 29 January. (the url link for that study is found below)

In the second study involving another group of patients from Hubei, the team also found significant nonsynonymous substitutions taking place and confirmed that the virus is indeed mutating becoming more potent and virulent.

In different study by Dr Fang Li from the University of Minnesota that was published in the Journal of Virology, on the 29th Of January 2020 (url link found below), lead researcher Dr Fang Li, warned after studying the genome of the virus that their research data alarmingly predicts that a single mutation (at a specific spot in the genome) could significantly enhance the Wuhan coronavirus's ability to bind with human angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) receptors to become extremely potent and deadly.

She further added, “For this reason, Wuhan coronavirus evolution in patients should be closely monitored for the emergence of novel mutations at the 501 position in its genome, and to a lesser extent, the 494 position, in order to predict the possibility of a more serious outbreak than has been seen so far.”

According to Dr Li, these type of gene “evolution” or mutation is easy to occur considering the nature of the virus genomic structure and characteristics.

Other experts are also saying that the coronavirus is not only “fast learning and adapting” it is beginning to exhibit signs that it is improving its mode and potency of transmissions and also its potency in the human body even to the stage of preventing antibody reactions.

A Chinese researcher at Wuhan Institute of Virology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences who wished to remain anonymous due to security reasons said “ efforts to develop a vaccine and also find treatments using antivirals will be hampered by the coronavirus potency and mutations. Already we are witnessing resistant to some of the initial antivirals we had used and that too in a very short time. We are dealing with something here that is going to be far more challenging that what most people can imagine.


https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-news-:-new-studies-emerging-that-confirms-the-coronavirus-is-mutating-and-becoming-more-virulent

This is what I feared with a coronavirus...common cold has never been defeated! This could be worse than a flu pandemic because there is no way to fight it.

I am hoping it burns itself out.

LOL, Carbon20 I really am not worried about myself just my son. If I go I am old and not a problem just a matter of time for me. But my son has his whole life in front of him. The only reason I prep and still prep!