“Most Infectious” strain of SARS-CoV-2 detected in PH

Recently, it has been reported by Noor Hisham Abdullah, the Director General of Health Malaysia, that the D614G type mutation of SARS-CoV-2 has been spotted in Malaysia. And according to him, the D614G mutation is even more infectious.

“…people need to be aware and be more careful because the COVID-19 virus with this D614G mutation has been proven to be detected in Malaysia. It’s found 10 times easier to infect other individuals and spread easily if spread by the individual ‘ super spreader ‘.

This D614G mutation was found by scientists in July 2020 and will probably lead to an existing vaccine study not to include or not effective in this mutation.”

– Noor Hisham Abdullah, the Director General of Health Malaysia, on Sunday, August 16, 2020

The D614G mutation in Malaysia has been spotted from COVID-19 virus isolation test for three (3) cases from Cluster PUI Sivagangga (close contact to index case) and also a case from Cluster Ulu Tiram (individual from the Philippines).

D614G Mutation Also Detected in the Philippines

The Philippine Genome Center (PGC) has also detected D614G mutation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the country. This has been reported by the PGC last week on August 13, 2020.

The D614G mutation at the spike protein is the most common, with 16,254 occurrences reported as of July 14, 2020, according to the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID).

“In the D614G variant of the virus, the “D” amino acid aspartate at position 614 of the spike protein has mutated to the “G” amino acid glycine. The G614 variant of SARS-CoV-2 has been reported to have become the dominant strain of the virus in circulation around the world.”

– Philippine Genome Center (PGC)

The PGC has done whole genome and targeted sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 in the Philippines and in March 2020, a total of twenty (20) Philippine isolates show the D614 genotype.

In June, on the other hand, both the D614 as well as the G614 have been detected in a small sample of positive cases. And in July, they have detected the D614 variant is among nine (9) randomly selected COVID-19 positive samples which they have collected in Quezon City.

However, PGC notes that although they have confirmed that G614 is present in the Philippines, the samples were from Quezon City and may not represent the mutational landscape for the whole country.

Is G614 More Transmissible?

According to PGC, G614 is now the dominant viral state. It is also claimed that the said mutation can increase the viral rate of transmission.

The PGC also stated that there is still no definitive evidence that shows that carriers of the G614 variant are actually more transmissible than those with D614. They also made mention that it does not appear to substantially affect clinical outcomes as well.

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SOURCE

Philippine Genome Center (PGC)
PGC Official Facebook Page
IMR confirms Covid-19 mutated type D614G
Noor Hisham Abdullah