Hyderabad: Dr Himansha Singh, a microbiologist and research fellow at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, shares her insights on 'coat of proteins' of a virus and the principles and hurdles behind clinic trials across the globe to develop a potential vaccine for novel coronavirus.
In an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat Assistant News Editor (English) Verghese P Abraham, Himansha also said that scientific community is overwhelmed by the huge collaborations between academic and industries to find a cure for COVID-19.
'Mutations of coronavirus major hurdle in vaccine development' Here are excerpts from the interview:
Q1.How does the process of clinic trials happen in the UK and what are the various aspects regarding safety protocols and government guidelines?
A1: We have identified a protein coat of a virus belonging to the coronavirus family. This virus has an S protein on its coating. The coating encapsules spikes which elicit an immune response in a human body. This is the principle behind the vaccine.
The idea is to have a short genetic molecule inside the human body as a vaccine containing the S protein. Once it is in there, it will initiate an immune response and produce antibodies against it.
The clinical trials have started in the UK and notably in Oxford university where the first patient was injected with S protein and if the patient shows no toxicity and side effects after close monitoring, I think guidelines will be pretty fast forwards and hopefully by September, we are looking at mass production of a vaccine.
Q2. A lot of people from across the scientific community are under pressure. The entire world is under lockdown and is asking for a cure. But how many people understand the complications and how do you deal with the pressure?
A2:In China, they identified the virus on 7th of January and fives days later they had a genetic sequence shared across the continent so that people can start researching on it. Ever since then, there are more than 6000 papers published discussing the virus!
The scientific community is overwhelmed with that. In fact, I being in this environment have never seen such a huge collaboration. Every university, every company have combined hand-in-hand at this point. When you have such vast information how do you know where to look for a non-scientific person. So there is a huge challenge for that.
Q3.There are cases of people testing positive who were earlier tested negative. Is this one-off thing or there is still a lot more to know about the virus?
A3:The problem with coronavirus is that even if we have 6000 papers, each claim a different story. So, the problem is there are a lot of mutations and strains and how it affects a person and how a person is going to respond to treatment are major hurdles.
People turning positive after being tested negative can be related to the testing done in the first time. Even if not, the whole idea of getting immunity if you get the virus first time does not hold true for all people. It all depends on genetics!
Q4.There are efforts to maintain social distancing using technology and I hear that you have been able to bring out Apps to help maintain social distancing at the same time to know what is happening and not to step outside. Can you speak about those?
A4: Thanks for asking that. Actually, there are two apps that we have developed. One app is called Thamba, in Marathi, it means 'stopping'. So basically, in this app, it anonymously tracks crowd and density formation. An interactive map with a red sign shows the density and you can avoid going there and practice social distancing without stepping out of our homes.
It is especially helpful for government and authority to control the crowd.
Read:Now masks, social distancing should be our way of life: Padma awardee Dr Naresh
