{"id":8542,"date":"2021-03-23T21:40:49","date_gmt":"2021-03-23T21:40:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/?p=8542"},"modified":"2021-03-23T21:40:52","modified_gmt":"2021-03-23T21:40:52","slug":"understanding-virus-mutation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/understanding-virus-mutation\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Virus Mutation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A virus is a submicroscopic parasite that is made up of\ngenetic code: RNA or DNA, surrounded by a protective protein coat known as a\ncapsid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 A virus\u2019 purpose is\nto create more copies of itself and spread to hosts.  However, viruses lack the ability to thrive\nand reproduce outside of a host body. In other words, \u201cA virus cannot\nreplicate alone. Viruses must infect cells and use components of the host cell\nto make copies of themselves. Often, they kill the host cell in the process,\nand cause damage to the host organism,\u201d according to the National Human Genome Research\nInstitute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a virus replicates, its genes may undergo copying\nerrors or genetic mutations. This is a natural and normal occurrence and is especially\ntrue of viruses that contain RNA such as the coronavirus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over time, alterations to the virus\u2019 surface proteins or\nantigens can occur through mutation. This leads to the formation of new variants\nof a virus strain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has been reported that multiple variants of the virus\nthat causes COVID-19 are circulating.  \nThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states, \u201cInformation\nabout the characteristics of these variants is rapidly emerging. Scientists are\nworking to learn more about how easily they spread, whether they could cause\nmore severe illness, and whether currently authorized vaccines will protect\npeople against them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CDC is closely monitoring these variants of concern and\nadvises people to continue to protect themselves from COVID-19 by practicing\ngood hand hygiene, wearing a mask, social distancing and getting vaccinated.<\/p>\n

All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page. You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter. PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.<\/strong> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A virus is a submicroscopic parasite that is made up of genetic code: RNA or DNA, surrounded by a protective protein coat known as a capsid.  A virus\u2019 purpose is to create more copies of itself and spread to hosts. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1828],"class_list":["post-8542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","tag-covid-19"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8542"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8544,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8542\/revisions\/8544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}