An antiviral drug designed to treat Covid-19 could be causing mutations in the virus that are spreading in the community, according to a new study.
Molnupiravir, one of the first antivirals available during the pandemic, was widely adopted in many countries, including the UK, which was the first to approve it.
It belongs to a class of drugs designed to make the virus mutate so much it is fatally weakened and unable to replicate.
But scientists continuing to monitor Covid recently found changes in the virus which looked very different from typical patterns of mutations.
They found those changes, which increased in 2022 when the drug was first introduced, were “strongly associated” with people who had taken molnupiravir.
Theo Sanderson, lead author and postdoctoral researcher at the Francis Crick Institute, told The National the discovery will be useful in assessing the "risks and benefits" of the drug.
He said: "Our data doesn't quantify what this means in terms of risk.
"That's a pretty hard thing to predict. But what our data shows is that this treatment can give rise to significantly mutated viruses which are still viable. That is the useful discovery.
"There are some viruses which survive treatment with a significant number of mutations."
He said the process is different to that of what happens when bacteria develops resistance to antibiotics.
"[In this case, molnupiravir] is specifically acting to create mutations, whereas in antibiotics there are mutations spontaneously occurring that give resistance to the antibiotics."
He said antiviral drugs are still necessary, because some people struggle to clear the virus and get very sick from it.
"The possibility of persistent antiviral-induced mutations needs to be taken into account for the development of new drugs which work in a similar way," he said.
"Our work shows that the unprecedented size of post-pandemic sequence datasets, collaboratively built by thousands of researchers and healthcare workers around the world, creates huge power to reveal insights into virus evolution that would not be possible from analysis of data from any individual country."
The study, by researchers at the Francis Crick Institute, the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, the University of Liverpool, the University of Cape Town and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), also found the mutations were more likely in older age groups consistent with the use of the antivirals to treat people who are more at risk.
"Molnupiravir is one of a number of drugs being used to fight Covid-19,” said Christopher Ruis from the department of medicine at the University of Cambridge, which was involved in the research.
"But what we've found is that in some patients this process doesn't kill all the viruses, and some mutated viruses can spread."
In England, the researchers analysed treatment data and found that at least 30 per cent of the events involved the use of molnupiravir.
The researchers said although the drug is not immediately dangerous to people taking it, the study may have important implications for the future direction of the pandemic.
To study how mutations occur, scientists look at their mutational signature - a preference for mutations to occur at particular points in the virus.
Researchers involved in the study said there was a close match between the signature seen in mutational events and the signature in clinical trials of molnupiravir.
They also saw signs of onward transmission from one person to another, although no established variants of concern are currently linked to this.
According to the experts, it is also important to consider that chronic Covid infections, which molnupiravir is used for, can themselves result in new mutations.
Stephen Griffin, professor of cancer virology, University of Leeds, said: "This paper is an incredibly important, well-conducted piece of research.
"The findings are of critical value to our understanding of how the use of this specific antiviral drug could have been better implemented, but also reminds us of more general aspects of good practice and antimicrobial stewardship.
"It is worth noting that the use of this drug is not immediately dangerous to individuals taking it, but these findings have important implications for the future direction of the pandemic."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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In numbers
Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only. Readers are encouraged to seek independent legal advice.
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Rooney's club record
At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17
At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
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