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ON TOUR IN NORWAY: Almost all the tourists who participated in the trip with Ingvar’s trips were infected. Photo: Ingvar’s Travels
Researcher Gunnveig Grødeland says that the “infection bus” incident is one of several mutations that we can expect in the future. She believes that the virus will eventually become more contagious and less dangerous.
A mutated variant of the coronavirus may have contributed to the spread of the infection after the outbreak on the bus trip of retirees in southern Norway, FHI said on Tuesday. Of the 40 people on board the bus, 37 were confirmed to be subsequently infected.
FHI has analyzed the genetic material of the coronavirus from several of the cases and concluded that the virus has unique mutations that we have not seen before in Norway. One of them could possibly increase the virus’s ability to infect cells and thus make it more contagious.
Seen in europe
According to FHI, it is not known how and when the virus entered the country, but they note that almost identical viruses have recently been seen in some other European countries, such as the United Kingdom. Additionally, there have been significant outbreaks of viruses with the same mutation in Australia.
STUDYING THE CROWN VIRUS: It is of interest that the virus is contagious and less dangerous, says virus researcher Gunnveig Grødeland. Photo: Håvard Rønning
Gunnveig Grødeland researches immunology and vaccine development at the Department of Immunology at the University of Oslo and explains what happens when a virus mutates:
– Mutations are changes that occur randomly in the virus as it multiplies (typographical errors in the genetic material). Over time, it will be beneficial to the virus if it becomes more contagious and less dangerous, so this is a trend that we normally see in viruses when they have been circulating for a while in the population.
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Mutated coronavirus discovered after bus trip outbreak – may have arrived in Norway just before bus trip
In the interests of the virus being contagious and less dangerous
The virus is interested in infecting as many people as possible and surviving. If the virus sickens the people it infects seriously, the consequence is that people either die or that vigorous measures are taken to limit the spread of the virus. This stops the virus. If, instead, the virus changes to cause milder disease, it can spread more easily in the population without being prevented.
Therefore, the virus should be contagious, but not fatal.
– The probability will indicate that the virus, which is slightly less dangerous, has an evolutionary advantage, will take over the market and become the most dominant type. Then the virus can multiply a little more freely, without us stopping it. And it is of interest to the virus, says the researcher.
Sometimes the virus can mutate to become less contagious, but more dangerous. It happens completely randomly, like a kind of “misspelling” in the virus code.
IT CAN BE DETECTED: By looking closely at exactly what genetic sequence the virus has during an outbreak, FHI can potentially trace where it came from. For example, a type that had only been seen in South America and the United States so far at Lillestrøm during an eruption there. Photo: NIAID-RML
The bus trip in question began on September 15, lasted six days, and involved 14 stops in a total of eight counties.
A total of 100 cases of contagion are linked to the bus trip, and the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) does not rule out that they discover more. Five of those involved have been hospitalized so far.
Did you get this with you? Espen Nakstad explains which are the most contagious daily activities at the moment:
Same mutation in Australia
– What is the most interesting thing about the virus mutation on the bus?
– Being able to follow the progression in real time as you do here, is very interesting. The more variations you observe, the more you see what the possible changes are for the virus, says Grødeland.
She believes that the mutation is confirmation that the virus is being fought internationally.
– We don’t have a complete solution in Norway until we have it around the world. There can be new mutations of the virus all the time. We know it has similarities to Australia. But the virus may have reached several countries before that.
It may take time before we have a completely different coronavirus
Grødeland says it is too early to say whether the bus ride virus has evolved to become less dangerous, although it is believed to be more contagious.
The director of the Line Vold department at FHI said at the government press conference on Wednesday that they are closely watching if they see further spread in Norway with this variant.
Also Grødeland:
– We must look at the trend over time. Based on what we see now, this virus doesn’t change much. In a couple of months or half a year, a new mutation will appear.
And so it goes on. Therefore, various mutations of the coronavirus can occur here and there, but it is difficult to predict when the virus in society will move to another phase and possibly become more contagious and less dangerous.
– I think it will be a couple of years before we see that this virus has actually become a much milder variant of SARS-CoV-2.
Did you know The first cases of the coronavirus in Norway belonged to the B.2 genetic line. But the viruses that caused the outbreaks in March belong to another line, namely B.1.
Epidemic viruses often turn into seasonal flu
Grødeland says that we have several cold viruses in society that originate from the coronavirus and previously caused more serious illness. The virus that caused swine flu and Spanish flu has also become part of the seasonal flu virus. Thus, SARS-CoV-2 is also expected to eventually become a less dangerous virus for the population.
The bus trip included 14 stops in the following counties; Rogaland, Agder, Telemark, Viken, Innlandet, Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal and Vestland.
After the bus trip, both the bus company and the municipal chief in Sandnes confirmed that the company met the industry standard for infection control rules during the trip.
Bus company: Rent us
Ingvar Landa runs the bus company and says he has made a decision after today’s news about the virus mutation:
– Now that we know that there is a mutated variant of the coronavirus that may have contributed to the spread of the infection, which was observed in some other European countries, we wonder if we got it on our trip. We met several German, French and Belgian tourists on our trip, including picnic areas, cafes and towns, he tells VG.
CHARACTERISTICS: Ingvar Landa says he is surprised and saddened by the outbreak. Here with his wife Silje. Photo: Silje Landa
– These are only assumptions on our part, and we hope that FHI will find an answer to this question as soon as possible.
Landa says she is sorry for what happened, but is happy that all the passengers have done well and hopes they will do just as well in the future.
– We are still equally surprised that this happened, especially as we had very thorough preparations to rule out an infection on the trip.
I had no foreign guests
– What trips did you take before this retirement trip?
– We have only had local day trips and short trips before the trip: to Jørpeland and Flekkefjord, and only with guests from the Stavanger area. At that time there was very little infection in the Stavanger area.
– Did you have foreign travelers on trips before your retirement trip?
– We had absolutely no foreign travelers on our trips throughout the year, and none of those who were with us on these trips have declared to have been abroad. They have not traveled abroad because they are in the risk group.
