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The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) has now revealed that the coronavirus with which the tourist bus passengers were infected is a mutated version of the original coronavirus that we have in Norway.
This is the first time that this mutated version has been discovered in this country, but it has previously been registered in other European countries. There has also been a major outbreak in Australia.
– We do not know exactly what the new variant really means, but so far it does not appear that this new mutation causes any more illness or serious illness, says FHI section chief Karoline Bragstad.
Department Director Line Vold at the National Institute of Public Health
Photography: Lise Åserud / Lise Åserud
The outbreak that originated on the bus is now under control.
– Thanks to rapid detection, infection tracking, quarantine and measures, municipalities have managed to limit further infection, says department director Line Vold at FHI.
She points out that they will now further analyze all positive samples across the country that they suspect originate from the bus, to see if it is the mutated variant.
Health Minister Bent Høie says that FHI’s comprehensive analysis is the reason this mutation has now been discovered.
Minister of Health Bent Høie (H)
Photograph: Stian Lysberg Solum / Stian Lysberg Solum
– It may be that this subgroup of viruses is somewhat more contagious than the others, but this is a hypothesis that has not yet been confirmed.
Not seriously ill
Of the 40 who participated in the round trip with Ingvars Reiser in September, 36 passengers and two tour guides were infected.
Eight were hospitalized, but no one has needed intensive care.
– In this age group, it is surprising that no one got sicker. Some have needed oxygen treatment and most have only been hospitalized for three or four days, says Stavanger University Hospital (SUS) chief infection control physician Jon Sundal.
Doctors don’t know why the patients didn’t get sicker. They hope that a recently started study can provide the answer.
Jon Sundal, chief infection control physician, and Heidi Syre in the laboratory at Stavanger University Hospital.
Photo: Kaj Hjertenes / NRK
Researcher on the bus
The bus passengers are now a separate research project, where the Stavanger University Hospital (SUS) will closely follow them for half a year in the first instance.
The research is carried out in collaboration with NIPH, the University of Bergen (UiB), as well as the municipal chief physicians of Sandnes and Randaberg.
– We think it’s a more contagious variant of the virus that was on the bus, and we wonder if it could have been a super spreader, says chief physician Heidi Syre, who is leading the research project.
Heidi Syre, Chief Medical Officer of the Stavanger University Hospital Laboratory.
Photo: Kaj Hjertenes / NRK
The study is in full swing and bus passengers will take new blood samples at SUS this week.
– Almost everyone has been an athlete and is in favor of research.
The most important goal is to find out why so many on the bus got infected and why so few got seriously ill.
The round trip began in Stavanger on September 15 and the bus passed through eight counties on the journey in southern Norway. FHI announced in a report on Friday that the bus trip in total has led to about a hundred cases of infection across the country, including passengers.
ITINERARY: This was the itinerary. PS: The map does not provide a complete description of all stops.
Elderly still at risk
The oldest passenger on the bus was 88 years old. Why did several of those infected not become so seriously ill that they needed intensive care? Torvik has no answer.
– We ask ourselves that, but we don’t have a clear answer.
According to the FHI report, the disease is still significantly more dangerous for the elderly.
– So far, almost 90% of deaths have occurred in the group for more than 70 years, writes the institute.
In general, healthy people in the 66 to 80 age group have a slightly increased risk of COVID-19 infection, while the risk is moderate or high for those older than 80 years.
More cases are expected to be linked to bus travel over time, according to FHI. The institute collects virus samples and analyzes them to determine whether patients are linked to the outbreak or not.
