Today: researchers identify further mutations in the coronavirus variants currently circulating around Brazil, Congress demands action from President Bolsonaro on the pandemic crisis, the Armed Forces come away smiling from the latest budget proposal.
Brazil could be creating even more coronavirus variants
A study published by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Brazil’s flagship medical institution, and signed by 31 Brazilian researchers has identified mutations in the coronavirus variants currently circulating in Brazil. A genomic survey spotted 11 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from five different Brazilian states (Amazonas, Bahia, Maranhao, Parana, and Rondonia) that harbor a variable combination of mutations.
Why it matters. “These findings support that the ongoing widespread transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Brazil is generating new viral lineages that might be more resistant to neutralization than parental variants of concern,” say the researchers.
- Scientists are still unable to determine whether these mutations will continue to prevail, as the number of samples remains reduced. Still, the findings are a massive alarm bell of the dangers of Brazil’s inability to contain the coronavirus spread.
Study on possible new variants. Published on the medRxiv platform, the study still is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review.
What to do? For researchers, the...