They discover a Uruguayan variant of Covid-19

Uruguayan scientists have discovered a variant of Covid-19 typical of this country, which they called P.6.

Researchers claim that reportedly contributed to the first wave of cases recorded at the end of 2020 but which was then moved by the Brazilian P1 and, since the end of April, has disappeared.

This was indicated on Monday by the Institut Pasteur, in Montevideo, in a press release in which it details that the Uruguayan variant was detected thanks to a study carried out by researchers from the Interinstitutional Working Group (GTI) on surveillance. genomics of the virus. .

The report states that this variant first appeared in November 2020 and predominated until March, reported the EFE agency.

“P.6 – according to the name given by an international scientific committee – owes its name to the fact that derived from variant B.1.1.28, originating and widely distributed in Brazil in 2020 ”, explains the text.

According to the Institute, the international scientific committee establishes that, to be considered a variant, the discovery “must have mutations that distinguish it from existing variants” and that the geographic expansion must be different from the original.

“The Uruguayan variant includes two relevant mutations which are located in the Spike protein, which could be associated with increased transmissibility. One of the mutations was also detected in other variants of the world increasing its frequency towards the end of 2020, which would support the idea that it may grant higher transmission capacity“, he maintains.

After appearing in November, the Uruguayan variant became predominant between January and February and began to decline in March, when P1 arrived. So far the last sample detected with the Uruguayan variant date April 26.

“Scientists believe that the Uruguayan variant would have played an important role in the first wave of Covid-19 in the country, since they observed a coincidence between the emergence and the spread of this local variant with the increase in cases of Covid-19 registered from November. / December ”, concludes the press release.

Since December 2020, Uruguay has experienced a strong growth in coronavirus cases and which worsened from March with the arrival of Brazilian P1. From there, the positives and deaths increased exponentially and it wasn’t until June that the numbers improved, aided by two-dose vaccination of more than 50% of the population.

Epidemiological situation

The country adds 381,715 cases of Covid-19 since the start of the health emergency, which was declared in Uruguay on March 13, 2020. There are 1,904 people suffering from the disease (48 hospitalized in intensive care) and the number of deaths stands at 5.972.

This Monday they registered 160 new infections and six deaths, according to the daily report of the National Emergency System (Sinae).

Uruguay remains in the yellow zone of the Harvard index, which cumulates the weekly average of new Covid-19 infections per 100,000 inhabitants and, although all the departments have active cases, three of the 19 (Soriano, Flores and Lavalleja) are already green.

On the other hand, the country’s borders continue to be closed to non-residents, with exceptions for diplomatic, personal or economic and professional reasons, with the express authorization of the Executive.

LP