This scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 (orange)—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19—isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells (green) cultured in the lab. (Image captured and colorized at NIAID’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) in Hamilton, Montana)

 

In the two years since it was declared a pandemic, the COVID-19 virus has given birth to many variants and, recently, to recombinants as well. People, therefore, need to stay updated about the changing virus to maximize their protection against the widespread and potentially fatal disease it causes.

 

What is a recombinant?

 

A recombinant is born when one person becomes infected with two variants or subvariants, which then interact inside their body. These hybrid forms of the virus are given the prefix “X”.

 

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The list of hybrids is getting longer, as countries around the world decode genome sequences of their local cases and report the results to GISAID. Established in 2008, this global initiative provides open access to the genomic data of the influenza virus and the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

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Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/what-threat-do-covid-19-recombinants-pose-to-thailand/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2022-04-14

 

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Not much we can do about it, except the strategy that works: avoid crowded indoor spaces, always wear a mask, wash your hands. Pretty basic.