A strain of the novel coronavirus spreading across large parts of the globe may be ten times more infectious but less deadly, a top disease expert has said.
President-elect of the International Society of Infectious Diseases, Paul Tambyah, has said evidence suggests the proliferation of the D614G mutation in some parts of the world has coincided with a drop in death rates.
He said this could mean the new strain, increasingly found in Europe, North America and parts of Asia, is less lethal.
Epidemiologists may not be surprised, as the majority of viruses tend to become less virulent as they mutate – a way of ensuring its own survival in its host.
Prof Tambyah told Reuters: “Maybe that’s a good thing to have a virus that is more infectious but less deadly.
“It is in the virus’ interest to infect more people but not to kill them, because a virus depends on the host for food and for shelter.”
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