Epidemic
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The development of Sars-Cov-2, which could again change the health status in the event of a major boom, is closely followed by scientists around the world. Virologist Etienne Simon Laurier assesses the risks of potentially disruptive mutations.
They are the ones who changed the equation every time we thought we had the epidemic under control. Variants arose over the months and evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. But while Covid-19 breaks out again for a new wave in France and Europe, there doesn’t seem to be much of a surge right now to turn the health table as the Delta variant did in the spring. So we can legitimately ask if the virus responsible for Covid-19 continues to evolve? Yes, answers Etienne Simon Laurier, a virologist at the Pasteur Institute, but Delta, currently dominant, is crushing all competition. currently. The world is evaluating launch on recently discovered variants and on the evolutionary potential of Sars-CoV-2.
Does the absence of a new key variable mean that SARS-CoV-2 is developing at a slower rate than before?
The virus is still evolving at the same speed. It accumulates about two changes in its genome every month. Worrying variables are often an anomaly from this point of view…