Seven strains of coronavirus have been detected in Argentina: which are the most dangerous and what difficulty can they generate in the vaccination plan

After the detection of Indian and South African variants of the coronavirus in three passengers who arrived at Ezeiza airport from Europe at the end of April, in Argentina they have already been identified seven virus variants since the start of the pandemic.

These are strains from the UK, Manaus, Rio de Janeiro, California, the Andes, and now India and South Africa. However, this does not mean that there is community circulation of all these variants. In fact, in the case of the latter two, only three cases were reported in total, two children infected with the Indian strain and a 58-year-old adult with the South African strain.

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The three cases were detected in Ezeiza and isolated immediately, along with their close contacts, to prevent the spread of the virus. Gabriel Levy, said the head of the infectious diseases unit of Durand Hospital in the city of Buenos Aires TN.com.ar that this news should not arouse fear.

“It is inevitable that new variants will emerge because there are still transfers abroad, regardless of the restrictions. It is not in any case to generate an alarm“, he claimed.

In this context, the specialist said that the population should avoid contagion by respecting “the measures taken which have generated what could appear to be a decrease in cases linked to the restrictions” established by the national government.

And he added: “The increase in infections will be avoided as care is increased and restrictions controlled which can be removed or restored as the number of cases evolves. People must comply with these measures and the vaccination campaign must be continued as quickly as possible“.

The Manaus variant

The Amazonian strain, or Manaus, of the Brazilian city devastated by this variant of the virus which caused the collapse of its health system at the end of the year, it is characterized by being more transmissible. In addition, according to experts, it is able to evade the action of the immune system and cause new infection.

It is the most present variant in Brazil, which is going through a serious health emergency with the virtual collapse of its health system in different regions of the country. From there the strain spread throughout the southern cone and today it is one of the variants that hits its neighbors the most Paraguay, Chile, Uruguay and, of course, the ‘Argentina.

In different parts of the country, the Manaus strain is already circulating regularly.

Variant P.1, as it is known in the scientific world, has 17 mutations, some of which are on the S protein (peak), responsible for binding to receptors in human cells and thus facilitating infection. These mutations are suspected of promoting the spread of the virus.

According to a study by researchers at the Brazil-United Kingdom Center for the Discovery, Diagnosis, Genomics and Epidemiology of Arboviruses (CADDE), based on mathematical models, the Manaus variant is estimated to be between 1.4 and 2 , 2 times more transmissible than the variants that circulated in the first wave.

Moreover, another feature that makes it more formidable is that between 25% and 61% of people already infected with the coronavirus can be infected again with this new variant. It is even believed that the viral load in the body can be up to 10 times higher.

Scientists say, however, that vaccines are effective against this variety of viruses.

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The strain of Rio de Janeiro

The Rio de Janeiro variant burst into this Brazilian city late last year. It is believed to be the result of five mutations in the original variant that affected the first wave of the pandemic in Brazil.

Scientists have observed a mutation called E484K in the receptor binding domain of the Spike protein. This variant was not as aggressive as its neighbor Manaus, which has spread throughout the region. Vaccines are very effective against this variant.

Meanwhile, in recent weeks, Brazilian health authorities have identified a new variant of the coronavirus derived from the strain of Manau and that it is already responsible for 6% of the infections reported in the state of Rio de Janeiro, the third most populous in the country. However, this new variant has not yet been detected in Argentina.

The Andean strain

Scientists believe that the Andean variant appeared somewhere in Chile and Peru. In Argentina, he started to be mentioned regularly after confirming that the president Alberto Fernandez contracted this strain of COVID-19 when he fell ill in early April.

Its scientific name is “C.37” and it is believed that it is already circulating in several countries in the region. The Peruvian researcher Pablo Tsukuyama He said that “the emergence and expansion of this lineage appears to match the increase in cases in various regions” of Latin America.

However, it has not yet been established whether this strain is more contagious or resistant to coronavirus vaccines.

“There’s a lot we don’t know about C.37 yet. But what we know worries»Said the scientist.

The Californian variant

This variant from the United States is one of the least cited among the strains circulating in Argentina.

It is known as CAL.20C (lines B.1.427 and B.1.429) and has been detected in more than 50 countries. In the United States, it is reported to be 20% more transmissible, but vaccines appear to be effective against this strain.

According to the newspaper The voiceIn Cordoba, seven cases were detected, four in Río Tercero and three in the provincial capital. It is considered a rare variant in the country.

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The British strain

The British variant has been around for some time. It burst into parts of southern England in December and from there spread across much of the planet.

The researchers detected a total of 23 mutations, most of which have no impact. However, others affect the spread of the virus. In fact, it has had rapid transmission around the world.

It is even associated with a higher death rate. According to a study published in the medical journal BMJ, the English variant is 64% more deadly. For 1,000 cases detected, this causes 4.1 deaths compared to 2.5 for the classic coronavirus.

However, vaccines appear to be effective against this strain, as evidenced by the success of the vaccination campaign led by the British government.

The South African variant

This strain was detected in South Africa at the end of last year and has spread to several countries in Europe.

In Argentina only one case was counted: that of the 58-year-old adult who arrived in the country at the end of April from Spain. The man was isolated in a hotel in Buenos Aires and showed only mild symptoms, according to the health ministry report.

Some studies show a decrease in the neutralizing capacity of sera from convalescent patients with this variant of the virus. For this reason, it is feared that it could cause more re-infections or partially reduce the effectiveness of vaccines.

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This strain shares with the British higher transmission capacity, although without causing more serious photos. Known as B.1.351, spreads 50% faster. Natural antibodies are less resistant to the virus.

The Moderna laboratory announced that its vaccine protects against this variant, just like the British. However, an Israeli study showed that South African variant he has one increased ability to evade antibodies vaccine generated Pfizer / BioNTech than other forms of the disease.

The Indian strain

The Indian variant of the coronavirus is behind the explosive growth of COVID-19 cases in the Asian country. Today India is considered the global epicenter of the pandemic.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned it was a strain more contagious and resistant to certain vaccines and treatments. For this reason, many countries have suspended their air links with the country. However, this variant has already been detected in several European countries.

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The variant, scientifically known as B.1.617, includes mutations “associated with a increased transmission»And with a lesser capacity to neutralize the virus with certain treatments with monoclonal antibodies.

The two cases detected in Argentina correspond to two children who came to the land of Paris and they were isolated in a hotel in the city of Buenos Aires with their parents, who tested negative.