The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) this Thursday classified recombinant strains of the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus as variants of interest, warning of the increase in the spread and transmission of covid-19 in Europe .
“ECDC has classified all XBB.1.5-like strains with the additional F456L amino acid change as variants of interest. This is due to a rapid increase in the proportion of these variants currently circulating, which may have immune evasive properties compared to the variants previously in circulation”says the community bureau in a press release released this Thursday.
Without specifying, the European center refers to a “increased transmission of COVID-19 in the EU/EEA [União Europeia/Espaço Económico Europeu] and abroad, after several months of very low infection rates”with no “signs of an increase in hospitalizations or pressure on health systems”.
“Based on what is observed in countries outside the EU/EEA, it is likely that F456L variants will contribute to the increase in transmission in the coming weeks. However, levels are unlikely to reach previous peaks during the covid pandemic -19 and it is equally unlikely that the F456L variants are associated with an increase in infection severity compared to previously circulating variants, or with reduced vaccine efficacy against serious diseases”suggests the European body.
As with other variants of SARS-CoV-2, elderly people and people with underlying diseases can experience severe symptoms if they are infected, ECDC recalls.
For this reason, the European Agency urges the Member States of the European Union to expand the use of vaccines against COVID-19 and to communicate primary and secondary population surveillance data, in order to monitor transmission trends in a timely manner.
“Compliance with national vaccination schedules is essential to protect people at high risk of serious illness and death. Countries should assess their availability to identify target groups and deliver COVID-19 vaccination campaigns in a timely manner.”shouts the ECDC.
The position comes after last week the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the strain EG.5 of SARS-CoV-2, classified as interesting, could cause an increase in the incidence of infections and become dominant in some countries. or even in the world.
The EG.5 strain was first reported to WHO in February and was designated as a controlled variant in mid-July.
The EG.5 strain has an additional mutation at the F456L amino acid in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (coronavirus surface protein that binds to human cells) compared to the XBB.1.9.2 recombinant strain which gave rise to it and with the recombinant subline XBB.1.5, both of the Omicron variant.
Covid-19 is a respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, a type of virus discovered in China in late 2019 that has spread rapidly around the world, taking on several variants and subvariants, some more contagious than others.
Since March 11, 2020, Covid-19 is a pandemic. Last May, it was no longer an international public health emergency.
Source: DN
