Mutation: 20A.EU1 mostly causes new corona infections in Europe
Tourists and residents arrive at Pablo Ruiz Picasso Airport in Malaga, Spain after the borders open on June 22nd.
Europa Press News / Europa Press via Getty Images
Most of the new Covid-19 cases in Europe come from a mutant strain of the virus that first appeared in Spain and then was spread by tourists across the continent. Scientists from Spain and Switzerland announced this this week in a report that they published in advance – yet without peer review.
The mutated variant of the coronavirus probably first appeared in farm workers in northeastern Spain, where it was identified in June.
The research team from the University of Basel, the ETH Zurich in Basel and SeqCovid in Spain explained that a suspected “superspreader” event explained the early spread of the virus before it was then carried abroad by tourists and other travelers.
By October, the new mutation called 20A.EU1 had been identified in twelve European countries, as well as Hong Kong and New Zealand. There is still no data to suggest whether the mutation is more dangerous than others, say the scientists.
Hundreds of mutated variants of the virus are in circulation in Europe, but few are as widespread as the 20A.EU1 cluster, the researchers said. “The 20A.EU1 mutation and a second mutation, 20A.EU2, … are responsible for most of the recent waves of infections in Europe,” the scientists explained.
Tourists as carriers of the new mutation abroad
According to the researchers, vacationers returning to their home country from Spain played an important role in spreading the virus across Europe.
More than four out of five new corona cases in Great Britain, for example, are due to this new mutation. The scientists have concluded that there must have been around 250 individual transmissions of the virus to England in July and August alone.
In comparison, the analysis of viral mutations in Hong Kong has indicated that the infections there are only due to a single transmission. Examination of samples from New Zealand had shown that they could have come from only three separate transfers from Europe.
The mutation is so widespread in Europe mainly due to intercontinental travel, according to the scientists. The authorities had allowed travel without quarantine measures for parts of the summer.
Guidelines for travel within Europe insufficient
The widespread use of 20A.EU1 across Europe “implies that travel policies and restrictions for the summer were insufficient to prevent the transmission of new mutations,” the researchers said.
According to the research team, the newly emerging mutation could be more infectious than the usual Sars-CoV-2 strain, but it is “particularly difficult” to finally determine why this variant of the virus is apparently spreading so quickly.
Due to a lack of data, the scientists also do not yet know whether the mutation is particularly dangerous. Genome studies allow them to identify and track the cluster, but “the lack of consistent and consistent sequencing across Europe continues to limit our efforts.”
If governments plan to reintroduce travel within Europe, the relevant data should be taken into account, the researchers added.
The report appeared after France and Germany adopted stricter exit restrictions and security measures to prevent the spread of the corona virus.
This post was translated from English and edited by Nora Bednarzik, the original can be found here.
