A Change That May Have Turned Covid-19 Into the Global Killer It Is Today
A Change That May Have Turned Covid-19 Into the Global Killer It Is Today
The main source of the current coronavirus is bats. Scientists found out that a specific mutation may have allowed the bat coronavirus to infect humans. The bat species is the greater horseshoe bat, which is a popular carrier of coronaviruses. Researchers say that a mutation in a particular viral protein may have turned the normal coronavirus into the killer it is now. The change helped the spike protein in the virus to attach to the human version of the protein. This is how the coronavirus connects to the ACE2 protein to get into and infect human cells, where it multiplies.
The mutated viral protein latches onto the human cells stronger. Studies show that it can multiply better in the human lungs. That is why Covid-19 patients have a difficult time breathing. Virologists agree that if the mutation has not happened, the coronavirus would not have been as deadly as it is today.
