How is the Andean strain, the variant of the coronavirus contracted by Alberto Fernández

Although it has not yet been possible to determine with precision whether the Andean strain originated from Chile or Peru, This variant, also identified as C.37, has already been detected in many countries around the world such as Ecuador, Germany, the United States and England.

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So far, there are only preliminary studies on the C.37 variant. In a long Twitter thread, the doctor of molecular microbiology Pablo Tsukayama, who is part of the team of scientists who discovered it, provided some details about the Andean strain.

“What is the difference compared to the 50 variants that we already have in Peru? 1) It has a deletion (Editor’s note: a type of genetic mutation) that we have already seen in the worrisome variants (such as the British, South African and Manaus variants); 2) He has mutations that could help him escape neutralization by antibodies; 3) Its rapid growth in Lima is worrying, ”Tsukayama explained.

What do we know so far about this new variant of the coronavirus?

Although there is still a lot to know since there are only preliminary studies, the “Andean strain” is already a cause of alarm in the region.

“In Peru, we have a coronavirus genomic surveillance project. Since July 2020, we have been trying to process 100 genomes per month to see which variants are circulating. In December, we observed a variant that had a series of very particular mutations, ”Tsukayama told C5N.

“The fact that it shares these very region-specific mutations, which also occur with others in the spike protein, has already raised some alarms. Between January and March, we processed some 150 additional samples and 40 % of them corresponded to this new line “says the doctor of microbiology.

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Although it is not yet possible to determine whether this is a strain in itself, the C.37 line is a cause of “interest” on the part of the World Health Organization (WHO ) and Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (where she teaches Tsukayama classes) and other institutes in that country are looking to collate information on Covid-19 strains with other centers in the region.

“We asked where this was observed and we realized that in Chile it was increasing, that the United States was already reporting quite a few parts of the same sequence; in Argentina we have seen a case so far ; in Ecuador, Brazil, Germany, and even Australia, ”said the scientist.

Tsukayama pointed out that “from somewhere in Latin America, from the Andean region, perhaps, he was born at the end of 2020 and has already been established in several countries.” “What fits now is to follow its growth in the weeks to come.”

“At the moment, it is impossible to determine from the sequence whether it is more transmissible or more pathogenic. The first thing that caught our attention was the very rapid growth of this variant. From almost 0% in December to 40% in March. In Chile, we are talking about 25% of samples. This is the first sign that tells us that something is going on, and that it is probably associated with greater transmissibility. To confirm these data, we need to do additional studies, ”he agreed.

“A few days ago, I was looking at the reports of the Argentinian corsorcio that performs genomic sequencing (PAIS Project, the Argentine Consortium for the Genomics of SARS-CoV-2), and in their report, they mentioned that in recent weeks, they noticed the growth of a very specific mutation that they call it 452 U, ”Tsukayama commented.

“This variant, C.37, has this mutation, so my curiosity is, maybe that’s what they identify in Argentina. I read the report that in February 452 U was on the rise. would suggest to see if with the sequencing of the complete genome can confirm whether it is indeed C.37 or another variant specific to Argentina that we do not yet detect in the region ”, he said offers.