New variants of SARS-CoV-2 triple the risk of UTI admission, according to European study

Although mutations are to be expected in the evolution of viruses, the fact that newer variants of SARS-CoV-2 have been more contagious and aggressive has once again put the global scientific community on alert.

Now, a study coordinated by the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC) has concluded that infections caused by the three variants of the virus that have most concerned authorities in recent months – British (B.1.1.7), South Africa (B.1.351) and Brazilian (P.1) – are causing more clinical pictures serious than the others circulating on the continent.

The work was published in the specialist journal Eurosurveillance and compared 19,995 cases of any of these three variants (19,207 of the British, 436 of South Africans and 352 of the Brazilians) with 3,348 of other types. The conclusion is that a patient infected with the British variant is 1.7 times more likely (70% more) to be hospitalized and 2.3 (more than double) to require an intensive care unit (ICU) place. . This variant represents more than 80% of new infections recorded in Spain, according to estimates made by the surveillance network set up by the Ministry of Health and the Autonomous Communities.

The most dangerous variant, according to the new data, is the South African variant, which multiplies the chances of requiring hospitalization by 3.6 and admission to intensive care by 3.3. The Brazilian, for his part, multiplies that risk by 2.6 and 2.2, respectively. According to the most recent estimates from the Spanish Ministry of Health, released last Monday and based on six Autonomous Communities, the South African and Brazilian variants are responsible for around 0.3% and 4.1% of cases in Spain, respectively.

The study authors, however, did not detect “an increased risk of death” from the new variants, although in this case the samples tested are much smaller, which can make it difficult to draw firm conclusions. Of more than 23,000 patients analyzed, 155 died from the British variant, 17 from South Africa and 12 from Brazilian.

Health has defined these three variants as those with the greatest impact on public health. The study analyzed cases from seven countries representative of the different realities of the continent such as Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg and Portugal between October 2020 and March 2021. This is the reason why the results did not include data from the variant which has a huge impact in India.

The report is relevant because it provides a clear answer and very strong evidence to one of the most asked questions in recent months and concerns whether the new variants, in addition to being more contagious, have also caused more severe cases.

“The results highlight the higher risk associated with the new variants and underscore the need to quickly achieve high percentages of immunization coverage among the population, as well as the need to maintain adherence to preventive measures to reduce circulation and disease. incidence of SARS-CoV- 2 inches, defined by the ECDC in a declaration.

Jose Miguel Cisneros is head of the infectious diseases department at the Virgen del Rocío hospital in Seville and placed great emphasis on the fact that the study “corroborates in seven European countries the conclusions of the work published in Nature on the greater severity of the British variant which had been made in the United Kingdom ”. “In exchange, I consider that the number of cases studied on the South African and Brazilian variants is not large enough to draw very firm conclusions.. It’s an interesting contribution, but more research is needed to build strong evidence, ”he said.

Cisneros also stressed the “value of these population studies which compare thousands and thousands of cases”. “At the hospital, we treat cases on a much smaller scale. We have detected increasingly severe cases in young people, which we attribute to the British variant, but it is this type of study that makes it possible to measure the real impact of the new variants, ”he concluded.

Among the conclusions of the study, they showed a higher risk of hospitalization and admission to an ICU associated with the B.1.1.7, B.1.351 and P.1 variants of SARS-CoV-2, also in middle-aged people, “which highlights the need to adhere to public health measures to reduce the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 and prevent severe cases.” Improved testing and contact tracing implemented with a particular focus on cases with worrying variants are also measures to reduce the spread.

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