News from the Center of Excellence for Emerging Viral Threats

WIRED - In countries without much sequencing, new versions of the COVID-19 virus can go unnoticed. Jeremy Kamil, microbiologist at LSUHS, says certain mutations help the virus thrive—to be better at replicating, perhaps, or better at finding its way into cells.

LEAPS.org - Jeremy Kamil, associate professor of microbiology and immunology at LSU Health Shreveport, in Louisiana, says that the variants developing are like a thief changing clothes. The thief goes in your house, steals your stuff, then leaves and puts on a different shirt and a wig, in the hopes you won't recognize them. Genomic surveillance catches the "thief" even in those different clothes.

BBC.com/Russia - Scientists from the United States and Argentina came to this conclusion after analyzing the neutralizing ability of the sera of those vaccinated with the Russian vaccine. But Sputnik still protects against a severe form of the disease, the authors emphasize.

Manorama Online - It now appears that a mutation in the double mutant variant seems to be similar to a mutation found in the B.1.351 (South Africa) and P.1 (Brazil) variants, the BBC reported citing Jeremy Kamil, a virologist at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport in the US.

India Times - It now appears that a mutation in the double mutant variant seems to be similar to a mutation found in the B.1.351 (South Africa) and P.1 (Brazil) variants, the BBC reported citing Jeremy Kamil, a virologist at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport in the US.

Newsweek - Virus samples showing up with multiple mutations is not uncommon, and two mutations is not a lot, according to Jeremy Kamil, a virologist at Louisiana State University Health Shreveport.

BBC News - Dr Jeremy Kamil, a virologist at LSU Health Shreveport, says if enough mutations happen in a viral family tree or a lineage, the virus can begin to function differently and the lineage can become a so-called 'variant of concern'.

Nature.com - Ramped-up sequencing efforts are helping to identify mutations that might boost transmission or help a virus evade immune responses. For the scientists who have spent the past year poring over hundreds of thousands of coronavirus genomes, the United States has been an enigma.

NBC CT - LSU Health Shreveport Virologist Jeremy Kamil told NBC Connecticut Investigates that halting their spread will require other measures. Kamil was among a team of researchers that discovered seven new COVID-19 strains, known as "variants," aside from the variants first identified in the UK, South Africa, and Brazil. 

Ilmessaggero, Italy - Interview with LSU Health Shreveport professor, Dr. Jeremy Kamil, regarding COVID-19 variants and genome sequencing.

NBC News - "There are certain variants that are more transmissible, and we have strong data on that, but the thing people should take away from the variant story is just: Don't let your guard down," said Dr. Jeremy Kamil, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Louisiana State University Health Shreveport.

The World - Lots of new coronavirus variants that have emerged in recent weeks. Beyond worries over how some of them may impact the pandemic, it’s also prompted concerns over what to name them, and the unintended harms of using shortcuts that link the variant to a specific country. 

BBC - Dr. Jeremy Kamil talks to BBC about the ongoing research on COVID-19 variants taking place at LSU Health Shreveport in conjunction with Dr. Lee at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. (Beginning at 11 minutes)

KTBS3 -  A researcher at LSU Health Shreveport has co-authored a study about seven new variants of the COVID-19 virus that appear to have originated in the U.S. The variants appear to have originated in the U.S. But Jeremy Kamil, associate professor of microbiology and immunology at LSUHS, said it is not a cause for panic.