Here is the new variant of Coronavirus in Europe. Report Ft

A variant of the coronavirus that originated in Spanish agricultural workers has spread rapidly across much of Europe since the summer, and now accounts for the majority of new Covid-19 cases in several countries – and more than 80 % in the UK.

An international team of scientists who have followed the virus through its genetic mutations has described the extraordinary spread of the variant, called 20A.EU1, in a research paper to be published today – reports the FT .

Their work suggests that people returning from holidays in Spain have played a key role in the transmission of the virus across Europe, raising the question of whether the second wave sweeping the continent could have been curtailed by improving controls at airports and elsewhere. transportation hub.

Since each variant has its own genetic signature, it is possible to trace the place of origin.

" From the spread of 20A.EU1, it seems clear that the virus prevention measures in place often have not been sufficient to stop the transmission of the variants introduced this summer, " said Emma Hodcroft, an evolutionary geneticist at the University of Basel and lead author of the study which has yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Scientific teams in Switzerland and Spain are rushing to examine the variant's behavior to determine if it can be more lethal or more contagious than other strains.

Dr Hodcroft pointed out that " there is no evidence that the [rapid] spread of the variant is due to a mutation that increases transmission or affects clinical outcome ."

But he pointed out that 20A.EU1 is unlike any version of Sars-Cov-2 – the virus that causes Covid-19 – he had encountered previously. " I have not seen any variant with this kind of dynamics in all the time I have been observing the genomic sequences of the coronavirus in Europe, " he said.

Specifically, the teams are working with virology labs to determine whether 20A.EU1 carries a particular mutation in the " spike protein " the virus uses to enter human cells that could alter its behavior.

All viruses develop mutations – changes in the individual letters of their genetic code – which can group into new variants and strains. Another mutation in Sars-Cov-2, called D614G, has been identified which is believed to make the virus more contagious.

Joseph Fauver, a genetic epidemiologist at Yale University who was not involved in the research, said: “ We need more studies like this to find mutations that have increased at a high frequency in the population, and then to see if they make the virus more transmissible ".

The new variant, which has six distinctive genetic mutations, emerged among agricultural workers in northeastern Spain in June and moved rapidly into the local population, according to the study.

Tanja Stadler, a professor of computational evolution at ETH Zurich who is part of the project, said analysis of virus samples taken across Europe in recent weeks has shown that they derive from this same variant.

“ We can see that the virus has been introduced several times in different countries and that many of these introductions have gone on to spread among the population, ” said Prof. Stadler.

Iñaki Comas, head of the SeqCovid-Spain consortium that is studying the virus and co-author of the study, added: " A variant, aided by an initial super-spread event, can quickly become prevalent ."

The researchers concluded that the "risk behavior" of holidaymakers in Spain – such as ignoring guidelines for social distancing – who " continue to engage in such behavior at home " has helped spread the new variant.

Research has shown that the new variant accounts for more than eight out of ten cases in the UK, 80% of cases in Spain, 60% in Ireland and up to 40% in Switzerland and France.

Strict lockdown measures earlier this year helped keep the initial wave of Covid-19 in check, with a substantial reduction in new cases over the course of the summer.

But the virus has spread rapidly across Europe in recent weeks in a renaissance that has forced national leaders to introduce new and painful restrictions on social activities.

(Extract from the foreign press review by Epr Comunicazione)