New coronavirus mutant found in Philippines

According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the Philippine Genomics Center said that in June, they found the g614 mutation and the original d614 genotype mutation from a small number of positive samples in Quezon City. However, the Philippine Genomics Center said: “this finding confirms the existence of g614 mutation in the Philippines, but considering that our samples are all from Quezon City, this finding may not represent the overall situation of the country.” According to a report published in the scientific journal Cell in July, experts found that patients infected with g614 mutation had higher viral load levels than those infected with d614 mutation. However, g614 does not appear to be significantly different in terms of lethality and increased severity. There is no conclusive evidence that g614 mutation carriers are more likely to transmit the virus than d614 carriers, the Philippine Genomics Center said. Moreover, the mutation did not appear to have a substantial impact on clinical outcomes.