McClelland RD, Lin YCJ, Culp TN, Noyce R, Evans D, Hobman TC, Meier-Stephenson V, Marchant DJ. The domestication of SARS-CoV-2 into a seasonal infection by viral variants.
Front Microbiol 2023;
14:1289387. [PMID:
38188566 PMCID:
PMC10769486 DOI:
10.3389/fmicb.2023.1289387]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic was caused by the zoonotic betacoronavirus SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2 variants have emerged due to adaptation in humans, shifting SARS-CoV-2 towards an endemic seasonal virus. We have termed this process 'virus domestication'.
Methods
We analyzed aggregate COVID-19 data from a publicly funded healthcare system in Canada from March 7, 2020 to November 21, 2022. We graphed surrogate calculations of COVID-19 disease severity and SARS-CoV-2 variant plaque sizes in tissue culture.
Results and Discussion
Mutations in SARS-CoV-2 adapt the virus to better infect humans and evade the host immune response, resulting in the emergence of variants with altered pathogenicity. We observed a decrease in COVID-19 disease severity surrogates after the arrival of the Delta variant, coinciding with significantly smaller plaque sizes. Overall, we suggest that SARS-CoV-2 has become more infectious and less virulent through viral domestication. Our findings highlight the importance of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and help inform public policy on the highest probability outcomes during viral pandemics.
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