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Virologists in Italy have since the beginning of August identified a variant of coronavirus circulating in Brescia, which was very similar to the one identified in the United Kingdom. They discovered it after doing several tests on a cured patient and continued to give positive results.
The Italian variant discovered in Brescia precedes the variant that appeared only at the end of September in the UK and then spread to Europe, including Italy, says Arnaldo Caruso, president of the Italian Society of Virology, for La Repubblica.
The variant identified in Italy presents mutations 501 and 493, which makes the Spike protein a little different from the pandemic virus known so far.
The “Italian variant” was discovered by chance, says Caruso, after abnormal viral persistence in a patient who had Covid-19 in April. Even after recovery, tests conducted since August have consistently yielded positive results, Mediafax writes.
“We decided to sequence the virus to understand the reason for this persistence and, to our surprise, we realized that we had identified a new variant, similar but not identical to the English version that was beginning to circulate in Italy, “said the doctor.
“We do not know if the English version appeared exactly at the end of September, as well as ours at the beginning of August. An analysis tells us that this new version in Italian could have been generated at the beginning of July. What can we say about my studies colleague Ciccozzi is that ours is without a doubt the first evidence of mutations in the Spike protein at position 501 in Italy and perhaps, at least so far, in Europe, “Caruso said.
When asked if the Covid vaccine could work in the “Italian version”, the doctor said yes, because the vaccine generates a complex response in several areas.
“The high viral load present in the August and November tests performed on the non-negative patient allowed the isolation of viral mutations in Brescia“says Caruso.
Meanwhile, the UK is struggling to limit the spread of a mutant strain of the virus, up to 70% more transmissible.
Publisher: Georgiana Marina
