Experts say “until October the new strain was not in the country”

The new strain of coronavirus discovered in the United Kingdom “until last October I was not in Argentina“but that does not mean “that in the future this variant can be detected” and that “it has not yet been shown to have greater virulence,” according to a report by an Argentine scientific consortium.

The Study of PAIS project (Argentina Interinstitutional Genomic Project of SARS-CoV-2), an interdisciplinary consortium supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, analyzed 512 SARS-CoV-2 sequences between March and October.

From this analysis of individuals belonging to the city of Buenos Aires, Greater Buenos Aires, Chaco, Cordoba, Ro Negro, Neuqun, La Pampa and Tierra del Fuego, “no circulation of variant B.1.1.7 was observed in Argentina“, according to the report published by the scientific portfolio.

Mariana Viegas, from the virology laboratory of the Ricardo Gutirrez Children’s Hospital, indicated that “until October of this year, according to what we have sequenced, we have not detected this variant in our population” but that “does not mean that in the near future this variant can be detected We are working on it.

The scientist noted that “(the new variant) has not been shown to have greater multiplication capacity or greater virulence. It is investigated whether this variant is present in other locations and whether these individual changes or together affect the viral phenotype.

In addition to the UK, this variant of the Sars CoV-2 virus has been detected in Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Italy and Iceland, although it is not excluded that it is present in other countries.

The variant found belongs to line B.1.1.7 and has as a distinctive genetic characteristic the presence of mutations and deletions, according to the consortium’s analysis.

He specifies that in terms of epidemiology, “a increase in its proportion in the population. Some of these changes or deletions are in S protein sites that can play an important role in the transmission or infection of the virus. “

These are protein mutations, the greatest amount was associated with proteins Point, which uses the virus to bind to its receptor on the host cell. This change has not been demonstrated in vitro, it is being studied, Viegas said on what is known about this virus and the false expectations it arouses in the population.

Faced with this new mutation, “it is essential to strengthen the recommendations for physical distancing and protective measures to limit the viral spread until the establishment of a mass vaccination”, indicates the report.

And he adds that the emergence of viral variants “is a natural process of virus evolution and their chance of detection increases as active surveillance increases. “

Therefore, he concludes on the need “to intensify the efforts of molecular surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in our country”.

It also stresses the importance of “the continued study of this variant and others that may emerge in populations with uncertain consequences, particularly relevant for imminent vaccination campaigns”.