BREAKING! German Researchers Identify New Immune Evasive SARS-CoV-2 Alpha Variant Sub-Lineages Wreaking Havoc In Europe Besides The Delta Sub-Variants
Source: SARS-CoV-2 Alpha Sub-variants Nov 05, 2021 3 years, 2 weeks, 2 days, 17 hours, 36 minutes ago
Alpha Sub-variants: COVID-19 surges in parts of Europe are not only due to emerging Delta sub-variants but also due to new immune-evasive Alpha variant (B.1.1.7) sub-lineages that is 3-fold less sensitive to neutralization by COVID-19 vaccine-induced antibodies.
Two new sub-variants have been detected from the new Alpha variant sub-lineages including one with two additional mutations G204P and K68stop were detected on nucleoprotein and ORF8 respectively.
Alarmingly the other sub-variant had two additional spike mutations D138Y and A701V of which the D138Y mutation is the signature mutation found in the Beta variant while the A701V mutation is one of the signature mutations of the Gamma variant!
The new Alpha sub-variants are suspected to be causing the new surges in parts of Europe including Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Denmark and even Ukraine besides the various Delta-sub-variants.
Even more worrisome is the possibility of recombinant events involving the alpha and delta sub-variants in Europe.
The study findings were published on a preprint server and are currently being peer reviewed.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.11.01.21265749v1
The original Alpha variant (B.1.1.7) of SARS-CoV-2 was first detected in the UK in September 2020. With significantly higher transmissibility than previously circulating strains, the alpha variant caused a sharp rise in new COVID-19 cases in the UK between February and May 2021. The original alpha variant is characterized by 17 mutations on the spike protein, ORF lab, ORF8, and nucleoprotein.
Continuous genomic surveillance in Germany was initiated in January 2021 to identify newly emerging viral variants and characterize the dynamics of viral spread at the local-, national-, and global levels.
SARS-CoV-2 evolution plays a significant role in shaping the dynamics of the COVD-19 pandemic. To monitor the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants, through international collaborations, the study team performed genomic epidemiology analyses on a weekly basis with SARS-CoV-2 samples collected from a border region between Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic in a global background. For identified virus mutant variants, active viruses were isolated and functional evaluations were performed to test their replication fitness and neutralization sensitivity against vaccine elicited serum neutralizing antibodies.
The
Alpha sub-variants study team determined the evolution, transmission dynamics, and immune escape ability of this sub-lineage by conducting phylogenetic analysis, epidemiological analysis, virus neutralization assay, and viral growth kinetics.
The study team sequenced 948,077 alpha variant genomes and identified a specific sub-lineage that carries two additional mutations. These mutations are G204P on nucleoprotein and K68stop on ORF8.
Interestingly, this sub-lineage showed an unequal distribution pattern. It accounted for 60 – 95% of all alpha-related cases in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, an
d Austria. In contrast, about 10 – 35% of cases in Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Poland, and France, and less than 10% of cases in Belgium and the Netherlands were associated with this sub-lineage. In the UK, it was associated with only 0.4% of all alpha cases.
This new Alpha variant sub-lineage was identified first in November 2020 in Switzerland, Austria, France, Slovakia, and Denmark. However, it started circulating in 23 European countries by the end of January 2021. In the Czech Republic, the sub-lineage was first identified in January 2021 and soon became dominant. Between January and April 2021, the ratio of alpha sub-lineage to all alpha variants in the Czech Republic was 91 – 100%.
Unique And Worrisome Mutations
Importantly, the most common signature mutations found in the alpha sub-lineage were the same as the signature mutations found in the original alpha variant. Only two additional mutations G204P and K68stop were detected on nucleoprotein and ORF8, respectively.
Alarmingly however, furthermore, extensive sequencing analysis identified another variant of the alpha sub-lineage carrying two additional spike mutations (D138Y and A701V). The D138Y spike mutation found in this new variant is one of the signature mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 Beta variant. Similarly, the A701V spike mutation is one signature mutation of the Gamma variant. This new variant of alpha sub-lineage was primarily detected in Germany and accounted for 50% of all alpha-related vaccine breakthrough cases.
Unique Characteristics
The study team tested the susceptibility of the original alpha variant, alpha sub-lineage, and spike mutation-containing sub-lineage to neutralization by BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine-induced antibodies. The findings revealed that the alpha sub-lineage with two spike mutations is 3.2-fold less susceptible to antibody-mediated neutralization than the original alpha variant and alpha sub-lineage.
Interestingly regarding the replication rate in lung epithelial cells, the spike mutation-containing variant showed reduced fitness compared to the other two tested variants.
The research findings identify a novel sub-lineage of the SARS-CoV-2 alpha variant that contains two additional mutations in the nucleoprotein and ORF8. This variant has caused a surge in new COVID-19 cases in some European countries, especially the Czech Republic.
Even more worrisome, the study identifies another variant of this alpha sub-lineage that contains two additional spike mutations. This new variant is relatively less susceptible to antibody-mediated neutralization. However, because of the reduced replication fitness, this variant is expected to have lower transmissibility unless it evolves further!
Despite all the garbage spewed by American and British mainstream media that the COVID-19 pandemic might be coming to an end in coming months, the reality is that we are still only in the beginning stages of this long running eugenic/genocide bioweapon programme that was unleashed by the certain American and British elites and that will ultimately wipe out a large percentage of the global population. The coming weeks and months will indeed be fun times.
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