Wave of global panic: new Corona strain is highly contagious



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A state of anxiety was imposed in the world after the dissemination of information about this strain, causing the epidemic to spread very quickly. Several cases of this new strain have been recorded, including nine in Denmark and two in Australia, and one case in the Netherlands and Italy.

travel suspension
After British authorities imposed lockdown measures on London and part of England, the Netherlands quickly suspended all flights from the UK on Sunday. Germany, Belgium, Italy, France and Ireland followed.

And outside Europe, Turkish Health Minister Fakhruddin Koca announced that his country had suspended travel with Britain, the Netherlands, Denmark and South Africa, in the context of news of the emergence of a new strain of Corona in the countries before mentioned.

In addition, on Monday, Hong Kong and India announced the ban on flights from Great Britain, following the discovery of this new strain of Corona. Canada, Chile, Argentina, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait did as well, bringing the number of countries suspending flights to 24 so far.

Mutations outside of Great Britain
Globally, the World Health Organization has recommended that all countries strengthen their ability to identify SARS-Cove-2 virus strains and share information internationally, especially if problem mutations are identified.

In addition to the countries that monitored this strain, “several countries have informed the World Health Organization of the existence of other strains that contain some genetic changes in the British strain.” And South Africa, which in turn detected a new strain on Friday, saw the mentioned mutation as a source of widespread infection. Note that earlier genetic mutations were recorded in this virus in East Asia and made it more common.

While the World Health Organization called on European countries to double their travel restrictions to Britain, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and President of the European Council, Charles Michel, made a call through the Internet to discuss the latest developments in this strain.

Vaccines are effective
In this context, experts from the European Union concluded that current vaccines are effective in preventing the new strain. German Health Minister Jens Spahn, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, told the public television channel, ZDF, that based on everything we know so far, and following meetings that took place between experts from the European authorities, this has no effect. The new strain on the efficacy of the vaccine.

For his part, the advisor to the Italian Health Minister, Galter Ricardi, expressed his anger that Great Britain did not announce the new Corona strain, despite having knowledge of it since last November. But he emphasized that the new strain is not considered lethal, but is spreading faster.

Scientists’ opinion about this virus
In the details, the new mutation in the virus occurred in the spike protein, which is located on the surface of the virus, allowing it to adhere to and penetrate human cells.

Commenting on this new strain, specialists in infectious diseases and the immune system made various statements. According to Julian Tang of the University of Leicester, the strain was spreading intermittently earlier this year outside of the UK. And it happened in Australia between June and July. And in the United States in July. And in Brazil in April.

Professor Julian Hescox from the University of Liverpool said: “Coronaviruses are mutating all the time and therefore it is not surprising that new strains of SARS-Cove-2 have appeared. The most important thing is to know if this strain has properties that will affect human health and disease diagnosis. ” .

The French geneticist Axel Kan affirmed that 300,000 strains of Cove-2 have been monitored in the world so far, noting that “the greater the number of infections, the greater the chances of a random modification of the virus and the greater the frequency of appearance. “.

Professor Peter Openshaw, an immune system specialist at Imperial College London, confirmed to the “Science Media Center” that the new strain is 40 to 70 percent more transmissible. Professor John Edmonds of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said: “The news is very bad. It appears that this strain is much more contagious than the previous strain.”

British government scientific adviser Patrick Vallance noted that this new strain, in addition to its rapid spread, has also become the “dominant” form of the virus, after causing a “sharp increase” in cases requiring hospitalization in December.



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