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On January 31, the first case of covid-19 infection was confirmed in Sweden, and then the virus quickly took root and spread to society.
On the second day, the first case of infection with the British strain of the virus mutated in Sweden was confirmed. It remains to be seen whether he will have the same control over Sweden as he does over London and the south-east of England.
It takes a long time before the British tribe can become dominant
– Of course, it takes a long time before it can become dominant in Sweden. But it’s not that this is a different virus or that it somehow behaves differently. If it behaves like it should and is never closer to people than a couple of meters, then it also helps against this strain of virus, says Agnes Wold, a professor of clinical bacteriology at the University of Gothenburg.
How scared do you think the Swedes should be about this mutation?
– You should be as scared of this as the usual Sars-Cov-2. You have to make sure you follow the restrictions we have, then none of these viruses will spread, says Matti Sällberg, virus researcher at Karolinska Institutet.
What is this mutation?
– This is called RNA virus. RNA viruses are by nature the changers. So it’s no wonder they mutate, it’s basically expected. The mutation that comes from England probably doesn’t affect the vaccine in any way, I think it’s unlikely, says Matti Sällberg.
Agnes Wold: the British tribe has more than 20 mutations
The new strain of the British virus has several mutations.
– More than 20 mutations, much more than other strains. The virus constantly mutates at a certain rate that can be calculated. But this has mutated much more. It is believed that it may be a person with a weak immune system who has not gotten rid of the virus. So it has been in the body and infected long term and had time to accumulate many mutations, says Agnes Wold.
The many mutations make the British strain of the virus stand out.
– I am surprised that no conspiracy theorist has yet said that this is created in a laboratory, as it differs quite a bit from the other virus strains. It is much more mutated.
Theory: the mutation may be 70 percent more contagious
How much can a virus change before becoming a new virus?
– Through these mutations, it can never change to become a new virus. What is needed for it to become a new virus is for it to exchange genetic material with another virus. This is how this virus arose. There were two different viruses that infected the same cell and then the third virus came out, Sars-cov-2, says Matti Sällberg.
The British mutation has been reported to be up to 70 percent more contagious.
– Since this strain accounts for 60 percent of all viruses isolated in London and South East England, it has been thought that the strain appears to have a competitive advantage. When you’ve calculated that, you’ve come to the conclusion that it can have 70 percent more propagation capacity, says Agnes Wold.
Matti Sällberg: “It is not possible to say how fast it spreads”
However, the theory that the mutation would be much more contagious has yet to be proven.
– We still don’t know anything about that, they’re just theories. You have no idea, says Matti Sällberg.
But does it seem to have spread rapidly in London and the south-east of England?
– This summer we had the D614G mutation that spread. When we discovered it, it was already more than half the world. These mutations are not detected until they are common enough. You don’t discover the first case, you only discover it when it is quite dispersed. And then it is not possible to say how fast it spreads, says Matti Sällberg.
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