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A variant of the coronavirus that originated in Spanish farm workers has spread rapidly across much of Europe since the summer and now accounts for the majority of new Covid-19 cases in several countries and over 80% in the UK .
An international team of scientists who have tracked the virus through its genetic mutations described the extraordinary spread of the variant, called 20A.EU1, in a research paper to be published on Thursday.
Their work suggests that people returning from holidays in Spain have played a key role in the transmission of the virus across Europe, raising doubts that the second wave sweeping the continent may have been curtailed by improving screening at airports and in other transportation hubs.
Since each variant has its own genetic signature, it can be traced back to where it originated.
“From the spread of 20A.EU1, it seems clear that the [virus prevention] the measures in place were often not enough to stop the forward transmission of the variants introduced this summer, “said Emma Hodcroft, an evolutionary geneticist at the University of Basel and lead author of the study, which is yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal. reviewed.
Scientific teams in Switzerland and Spain are now rushing to examine the variant’s behavior to determine whether it may be more deadly or more contagious than other strains.
Dr Hodcroft pointed out that “there was no evidence that the variant is [rapid] the spread is due to a mutation that increases transmission or affects the clinical outcome “.
But he pointed out that 20A.EU1 was unlike any version of Sars-Cov-2 – the virus that causes Covid-19 – he’d encountered previously. “I haven’t seen any variant with this kind of dynamics since looking at the coronavirus genomic sequences in Europe,” he said.
Specifically, the teams are working with virology labs to determine whether 20A.EU1 carries a particular mutation in the “spike protein” that the virus uses to enter human cells that could alter its behavior.
All viruses develop mutations – changes in the individual letters of their genetic code – which can group into new variants and strains. Another mutation in Sars-Cov-2 has been identified, called D614G, which is believed to make the virus more infectious.
Joseph Fauver, a Yale University genetic epidemiologist who was not involved in the research published Thursday, said, “We need more studies like this to find mutations that have increased at high frequency in the population, and then decode them if they make the most transmissible virus. “
The new variant, which has six distinctive genetic mutations, emerged among agricultural workers in northeastern Spain in June and moved rapidly through the local population, according to the study.
Tanja Stadler, professor of computational evolution at ETH Zurich who is part of the project, said that analysis of virus samples taken from all over Europe in recent weeks showed that they were derived from this same variant.
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“We can see that the virus has been introduced several times in different countries and many of these introductions have spread among the population,” said prof. Stadler.
Iñaki Comas, head of the SeqCovid-Spain consortium studying the virus and co-author of the study, added: “A variant, aided by an initial super-spread event, can quickly become prevalent.”
The researchers concluded that the “risky behavior” of holidaymakers in Spain – such as ignoring social distancing guidelines – who “continue to engage in such behavior at home” helped spread the new variant.
Research showed that the new variant accounted for more than eight out of 10 cases in the UK, 80% of cases in Spain, 60% in Ireland and up to 40% in Switzerland and France.
Tight lockdowns earlier in the year helped keep Covid-19’s initial spike in check, with new cases substantially reduced over the summer.
But the virus has spread rapidly in Europe in recent weeks with a resurgence that has forced national leaders to introduce new and painful restrictions on social activities.
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