A new variant of the coronavirus (20A.EU1), which was found in Spain, can “infect both children and adults equally well.” Corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chief Researcher of the Department of Genomic Medicine, Research Institute of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproduction (AGiR) named after D.O. Otta, chief specialist of St. Petersburg and the North-West region of the Russian Federation in medical genetics Vladislav Baranov.
According to the expert, more and more reports began to appear that children became more likely to get sick, and they may develop MIS-C, a multisystem inflammatory syndrome. In patients with it, disturbances in the work of the cardiovascular system, gastrointestinal tract, as well as skin and neurological symptoms are observed.
The original SARS-CoV-2 variant, which arrived from China, was more likely to infect adults. Vladislav Baranov associates such a feature of the pathogen in the fact that it enters the human cell using receptors of angiotensin-converting enzymes 2 (ACE or ACE2), which are often called the “gateway” for coronavirus infection.
– The higher the density of these receptors in the nasopharynx, the easier it is to become infected. It is believed that children still lack these receptors, while adults have enough. Therefore, such a difference in infection, he said.
The drilled variant of the coronavirus found in Spain has already spread to many European countries, including Britain, Ireland, Norway and Switzerland.
Read more in an exclusive interview with Izvestia:
“We are investigating the reaction to the coronavirus blockade and their children”