＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49) on X
(Reference) Original article in Japanese
・コロナ変異株にギリシャ文字を使うのはなぜか？変異株のできる仕組みとは？
<Added 2023/2/27> Reports indicate the US Department of Energy has determined the coronavirus may have leaked from a Chinese laboratory.
The following report was published by “Asahi Shimbun Digital”:
The Wall Street Journal reported on the 26th that the U.S. Department of Energy has determined that the novel coronavirus most likely originated from a leak in a Chinese laboratory. This conclusion is based on newly classified information and has been reported to the White House and senior members of Congress. However, within the U.S. government, opinions are divided, with some agencies supporting the theory that the virus was transmitted to humans through animals.
According to the WSJ, the Department of Energy, while stating that its “certainty is low,” has concluded that the virus spread due to an accidental outbreak at a Chinese laboratory. The Department of Energy oversees U.S. national laboratories that conduct cutting-edge biological research and possesses “considerable scientific expertise.”
Other government agencies, including the FBI, also support the laboratory leak theory. The National Intelligence Council and four other agencies support the animal transmission theory, while two agencies, including the CIA, have not yet reached a conclusion on which theory to support.
<Added 2021/11/27> WHO Names New Variant “Omicron” (15th Greek letter)
On November 26, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated a new variant of the novel coronavirus, “B.1.1.529,” confirmed in South Africa and other areas, as a “Volatile Organic Compound (VOC),” alongside the currently dominant Delta strain and other VOCs. It was named “Omicron” (15th Greek letter). This VOC designation places it under global alert, and surveillance will be strengthened.
At a meeting of experts on the 26th, the WHO stated that the Omicron strain “has undergone numerous mutations, some of which are of great concern.” Based on the scientific evidence available at this time, it “indicates an increased risk of reinfection compared to other VOCs.”
It should be noted that the reason we haven’t heard many Greek letter names for variants between the “Delta strain” and the current “Omicron strain” is because they were not considered particularly potent or of concern.
Regarding the “coronavirus variants” that mutated from the initial “Chinese virus” (Wuhan virus), they were initially named after the country where they were first discovered, such as “British type,” “South African type,” “Brazilian type,” and “Indian type.” Recently, however, they’ve come to be called “Alpha type,” “Beta type,” “Gamma type,” and “Delta type.”
I think calling them “South African type” or “Indian type” makes it clearer and easier to understand the origin of the variant…
1. Reasons for using Greek letters for coronavirus variants
(1) WHO’s Call to Action
This began in late May 2021 when the WHO (World Health Organization) pointed out that using geographical names for the disease was discriminatory and called for the use of Greek letters instead.
They stated that they “recommend that authorities and the media use the new labels to avoid stigmatization and discrimination, and to facilitate communication.”
Indeed, the “Spanish flu,” a pandemic that once ravaged the world, originated in the United States, but during World War I, while belligerent nations did not disclose the infection situation due to “wartime information control,” only neutral Spain publicly announced its tragic infection situation, hence the name.
Therefore, many people may mistakenly believe that Spain was the origin of this disease.
While the WHO’s call to action may have been with the “Spanish flu” in mind, I don’t think so.
(2) The Real Reason the WHO Called for the Use of Greek Letters
Whether the origin of this novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is the “Wuhan Institute of Virology” or the “Wuhan Seafood Market” needs to be thoroughly investigated.
However, there is no doubt that the “Chinese virus” (Wuhan virus) is the origin.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is a former Minister of Health and Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, and a “pro-China figure” whose deference to China is blatant.
I believe the real reason for calling for the use of Greek letters is to “stop referring to the virus, including variants, by country names, and to avoid China being investigated or thoroughly investigated as the origin of the novel coronavirus.”
2. How Coronavirus Variants are Created
A variant of the novel coronavirus, known as the “Delta strain,” is currently spreading rapidly around the world.
Why does the novel coronavirus mutate repeatedly as it spreads from person to person? And how do these mutations change the virus’s properties?
(1) The Mechanism of Novel Coronavirus Mutation
Viruses are said to “change their genes to adapt to changing environments in nature” as a “survival strategy.”
Unlike bacteria, viruses “cannot reproduce on their own,” so they “invade the cells of other organisms, such as humans and animals, and reproduce by forcing them to create copies of themselves.” During this process, a large number of copies of the virus’s genes are made.
(2) Mutant Viruses and Virus Properties
In the case of the novel coronavirus, as it repeatedly copies, “very small errors occur in the sequence of a substance called RNA, which carries genetic information.” This “copying error, or change in genetic information,” is called “mutation.”
When the letters in RNA are rewritten, the amino acid groups specified there change, and the shape of the protein can change. Viruses gradually mutate as they spread from person to person. This mutated virus is called a “mutant strain.” The novel coronavirus undergoes small mutations at a frequency of approximately one mutation every two weeks. Compared to the novel coronavirus discovered in Wuhan, China in January 2020, it is currently estimated that there are approximately 20 to 30 mutations.
In Japan, as infections have repeatedly spread, the novel coronavirus’s genetic information has gradually changed. However, these changes were mainly due to copying errors in genetic information that did not significantly affect the virus’s properties, so mutated strains did not become a problem in Japan for some time. In the autumn of 2020, a more infectious mutated virus (alpha strain) was discovered in the UK, leading to a major problem.
(3) Changes in properties due to spike protein mutations
Even small mutations can alter the properties of the virus if they occur in important parts of its genetic information.
What mutated strains have in common is that mutations have occurred in the genetic information of a part of the virus called the “spike protein.”
This “spike protein” is an extremely important site that serves as a scaffold for the novel coronavirus when it infects human cells, and its properties can change due to mutations.
The following three are particularly problematic:
① Ease of spreading infection (transmissibility): Due to mutations, the virus binds more strongly to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor on the surface of human cells, increasing its infectivity compared to conventional strains.
② Severity of the disease (virulence): There is a possibility of a higher risk of hospitalization or death during hospitalization.
③ Reduced vaccine effectiveness (immune evasion): Some mutant strains have been shown to weaken vaccine effectiveness.
When a highly infectious mutant strain enters a country, the proportion of infections caused by that mutant strain gradually increases, eventually replacing almost all of the original strain.
In Japan, the original virus (China/Wuhan type) initially spread, but then a highly infectious “alpha strain” (UK strain) entered from overseas and replaced it.
Currently, it is being replaced by an even more infectious “delta strain” (India strain). The genetic information of the virus has changed to facilitate replication, which can be considered, in a sense, “viral evolution.”
(4) There is a possibility that it may become more infectious than the Delta strain.
Influenza viruses usually undergo only minor mutations, but once every few decades, they can undergo a complete model change.
The “avian influenza virus,” which previously only infected birds, underwent this complete model change, becoming able to infect humans and spread from person to person; this is what is known as a “novel influenza virus.”
Some experts point out that the novel coronavirus may become more infectious than the “Delta strain.”
Mutated viruses appear due to copying errors during replication, so reducing the number of copies reduces the opportunities for mutation.
In other words, it is important to suppress the spread of infection, and the importance of infection control measures is increasing even further.
3. What are Greek letters?
