SARS-CoV-2
Reference The Hindu
WHO has issued a warning to all countries that the Emergence of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 virus-XE Recombinant
SRS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19, it is an RNA which evolves by accumulating genetic errors in its genome
These errors are produced when a virus affects a person it copies itself in the Host's Cell
These Errors(mutation) are byproducts of replication of SARS-CoV-2 inside the cell and, maybe carry forward as the virus continues to affect People. this forms a cluster of infections descending from a common parental virus genome and is known as lineage or variant of the virus
What is Recombination?
The process with which a virus increases its genetic diversity is called recombination
Recombination occurs when two different lineages of the virus infect the same cell in the host and exchange fragments of their genomes which generates a descendant variant having mutations that occurred in both the original viruses
Are Recombinant Viruses dangerous?
Though Recombinants have been found in SARS-CoV-2, it hasn't affected the public in any unique way. Pieces of evidence suggest that recombinant lineage has more clinical outcomes than the current Omicron
Health officials say Transmission advantage is there over the Omicron
Conclusion:
Recombinations are extremely rare occurrences, at this point, it is unclear why these viruses recombine. so it is important to track down recombination of SARS-CoV-2 lineages because it may lead to the generation of a viral lineage that is better at infecting people or Transmitting from host to host
