Scientists claim to have identified a new variant of coronavirus in Europe | Coronavirus

The study notes that the new “version” of Sars-CoV-2 appeared in June, early in the European summer, probably in Spain, and has spread to several countries.

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Scientists could not say whether the increase in cases on the continent is related to the new variant.

The research with the result of the study was published on a prepress platform, that is, the text has not yet been reviewed by other specialists, a stage in which scientific journals evaluate the quality of the work and decide whether it will be published.

Mutations generally occur in viruses, including Sars CoV-2, and do not necessarily reflect a “stronger” or more transmissible version. Researchers have yet to study the impact of changes in the genetic code to confirm any difference in infection in humans.

According to the survey, the new variant of the virus has appeared frequently above 40% among those infected in Spanish territory since July. Outside of Spain, it remained at lower levels until July 15, but then reached percentages between 40% and 70% in September in Switzerland, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The mutation is also common in Norway, Latvia, the Netherlands, and France.

The research was carried out by scientists from the universities of Basel, Switzerland; the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics; the ETH Zürich in Basel; the Institute of Biomedicine and the University of Valencia, Spain; and the Center for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology and the Public Health Network (Ciberesp), in Madrid.

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