What we know about Epsilon, the variant of the coronavirus already detected in Argentina and which worries the world

After the Delta variant, already broadcast in a hundred countries and responsible for an unprecedented increase in cases in nations like the United Kingdom, a new mutation of the coronavirus begins to worry: Epsilon.

This line is presented with a collection of mutations that include it in the dreaded group of strains of the SarsCoV2 virus, the so-called “variants of concern” (VOC), as revealed by an investigation coordinated by the biochemist Matthew McCallum, from the University of Washington in Seattle, and published in the magazine Science.

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The study aims to highlight the importance of sequencing as one of the most important weapons in controlling the circulation of the virus. It is based on the analysis of 57 samples, and observed three mutations that give the Epsilon variant antibody resistance found in the Spike protein, the medium that the virus uses to enter cells.

The data indicate that with its three mutations, the Epsilon variant has the ability to both evade the antibodies of the messenger RNA vaccines -for example, that of Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna– such as those generated by the SarsCoV2 virus.

In Argentina, a report by Argentine Interinstitutional Genomics Project (PAIS) by whole genome sequencing, he detected the Epsilon variant in five cases: four in the province of Cordoba (three in Río Tercero and one in the capital Cordoba) and one in Santa Fe capital city. According to information released by the program under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, none of the cases had a history of travel or close contact with travelers.

In which countries has the Epsilon variant been detected?

The observations published by Science are based on the analysis of plasma collected from 15 people vaccinated with two doses of Moderna, 33 vaccinated with two doses of Pfizer-BioNtech and 9 others who had been infected with SarsCoV2

Identified for the first time in early 2021 in California, in May, the Epsilon variant had been released in 34 other countries and according to the Gisaid database, compared to the last four weeks, it is already present in 44 countries, from United States to South Korea, India and Japan.

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In Europe, cases have been found in Denmark (37 cases), Germany (10), Ireland and France (7), Netherlands and Spain (5), Switzerland (4), Norway (3), Sweden, Finland and Italy (2), Belgium (1).

In America, besides Argentina and the United States, the variant has been detected in Mexico and Chile.