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A joint effort between Chilean scientists and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) tries to determine if the second wave of infections in the Magallanes Region – unusually aggressive – is due to a mutation of the Sars-Cov-2 coronavirus, which would make it even more contagious.
The information was released by the international chain AlJazeera, indicating that the researchers are surprised that although the area has only 1% of the national population, it is generating 20% of the new active cases in the country.
The Chilean correspondent for Al Jazeera, Lucía Newman, highlighted in her report that at the beginning of this week, Santiago and Magallanes exhibited practically the same contagion figures, with the difference that Santiago has 8 million inhabitants, versus only 170,000 in the southern region .
“Experts indicate that this may be due to many causes, even related to the weather, but they cannot rule out that it is due to a new, more virulent strain”, indicates.
There is already a history of mutation in Houston
Indeed, there are preliminary studies that have already accounted for the ability of the virus to evolve and better adapt to humans.
In fact, a preliminary study carried out in the American city of Houston, analyzed at the genetic level the viruses that have affected it in two different waves, discovering that the second featured a much more contagious strain.
Despite this, it cannot be ruled out that the extreme conditions in the region facilitate the spread of the virus that causes covid-19. “Some of these variables may be cold and wind, in addition to the fact that the worldwide spread rate has also accelerated,” said Marcelo Navarrete, researcher from the University of Magallanes.
Thus, the scientists emphasize that even if the existence of a new strain is confirmed, this does not necessarily make it more lethal, nor would it negate the effectiveness of a potential vaccine.
PAHO is supporting the efforts of Chilean researchers to confirm or rule out the existence of a new strain since, if so, it could mean an even more worrying situation for our country.
“If this hypothesis is validated, it would obviously be very worrying because if the degree of Magellan infections were to be repeated throughout the country, we would have 25,000 new cases per day, and it would put us in a very dangerous scenario ”, sentenced the Undersecretary of Assistance Networks, Arturo Zúñiga.
It should be noted that the situation in the Magallanes Region has become so serious, with 302 cases only yesterday – compared to 336 in the Metropolitan Region – that health authorities recommended to the population the use of masks even inside homes.
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