Alarm: Indian variant spreads across Europe

Several European countries today reported detecting cases of the Indian variant coronavirus, which is considered more contagious, and the regional office of the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that this strain is spreading across the continent.

“WHO has added B.1.617 detected in India to the variants of interest, and we are seeing its expansion now. It is very important to understand that any country can experience a situation like the one India is going through. “the head of the WHO European regional office, Hans Kluge, said at a press conference.

“The relaxation of personal protection measures, mass gatherings, a large number of variants and a very low vaccination rate could generate a perfect storm in any country”added.

Kluge’s warnings coincide with reports from Germany, Italy and Romania on local infections in which this mutation is identifiedreported the news agency AFP.

“We have isolated cases in Germany, tomorrow we will publish a new report,” Lothar Wieler, director of the infectious diseases agency at the Robert Koch Institute, told reporters.

In Italy, meanwhile, health officials discovered 23 people infected with the coronavirus on a flight from India bound for Rome. “Yesterday evening, on the flight from India which landed at 9.15 p.m. local time at the Roman airport of Fiumicino with 213 passengers and 10 crew members, 23 people were positive,” reported Alessio D’Amato, advisor health for the Straight region.

The case has alerted the Italian authorities, who fear the spread of the Indian strain of the coronavirus which is hitting the Asian country, even if – they admitted – for the moment it is too early to know if indeed, among the detected positives , there was some with that variant. All infected people and their close contacts with whom they have had contact have been transferred to specialized structures, “Covid hotels”, where they will remain isolated.

Romania, meanwhile, reported detecting the first case of the variant found in India. in a 26-year-old patient who arrived from Asia about a month ago with mild symptoms.

The health ministry added that it was monitoring outbreak of coronavirus cases among construction workers recently arrived from India in a village in Brasov County.

Ihor Perehinets, WHO / Europe technical advisor, said the double mutation present in the Indian variant could neutralize the effectiveness of the antibodies, both those used for treatment and those developed by a person recovered from a SARS-CoV-2 infection.

“But this is something that is still under study and it is still early to draw unequivocal conclusions as to whether this lineage, this mutation of the virus, has caused an infection boom,” he added. ‘expert.

Perehinets recalled that five states in India recently held elections, with mass rallies and closer contacts than those recommended by the WHO under pandemic conditions.

In addition to B.1.617 which circulates widely in India and has also been detected in around 20 other countries, a triple mutation line, B.1.618, has been identified in the state of West Bengal, which may be more contagious.

India, now the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, has renewed highs in the past 24 hours with 379,257 additional infections and 3,645 associated deaths.

Telam Agency

THE NATION