Quote:
Originally Posted by Sephiroth
Thanks Jon.
So the simple answer to my question is:
The CV arriving at "the person" will not mutate as a result of meeting the antibodies nor will that person be infectious.
Have I got it?
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Sort of, yes. It's difficult to get over the fact that mutations and evolution don't have a 'direction' - there's no conscious effort to change, change happens spontaneously and at random. Even hardcore geneticists explain this poorly (I am not, my background is molecular microbiology with a healthy chunk of protein structures and functions) If the virus is not reproducing, then mutations will not happen, mutations are usually because of bad copying of the RNA (possibly coupled with damage to the RNA) The virus has no way of changing itself if it's just floating about as it can't make or change proteins in response to antibodies. Mutations can be silent with no change, lethal in that the virus cannot function any more or somewhere where the action of the virus changes.
Now what can happen is if you get infected and the virus can reproduce. Then you have a race between the immune system and virus reproduction. If you are vaccinated, then your immune system has a 'head start'. This will reduce or eliminate the amount of reproduction the virus can do before the immune system wipes it out. If during reproduction, a mutation occurs, then the fun can start. If you have a million virus without a mutation that allows it to avoid the immune system and one virion that does, then that million will be wiped out and the one will reproduce. Natural selection in action...