Nine people had tested positive for a variant form of Covid-19, in a long-term care unit of the Geriatric Center of Chantepie, in Ille-et-Vilaine.
- Virus mutations detected in Great Britain raise concern
- My mutations of the virus detected in England would have made it more contagious
- The presence of this variant had been suspected in Ille et Vilaine but it is not involved in the new infections
- On the other hand, he would be present in Ile de France where a school facilitator was infected
It is neither the British variant nor the South African variant: in Brittany, the first of the nine cases of a variant of Covid-19 identified in Chantepie is not associated with these mutations of the virus. “This strain does not match the UK variant “VOC 202012/1“, specifies a communicated of the Regional Health Agency in Brittany. Sequencing of the virus observed in these patients was carried out by the national research center of the Institut Pasteur. The results of the other eight infected people are expected by early next week.
A mutation “normal“
“The disease does not seem different from otherssaid Matthieu Revest, infectious disease specialist at the Rennes University Hospital, to AFP, quoted by France Info. There were analyzes because there was a link with England. This is what we do systematically but the clinical dynamics of this epidemic in this cluster is no different from the others.“This would be a normal mutation of the virus.”A virus mutatesunderlines the health professional. It’s normal for it to change as it goes.” So far more than 300,000 mutations of the virus have been recorded, according to Axel Kahn, medical geneticist. “This one changes but less than that of the flu for example: it is relatively stable genetically, says Matthieu Revest. A virus doesn’t need to mutate to be super-dangerous, and this one is already super-dangerous.“
In Ile-de-France, the presence of the British variant confirmed
Previously, the Ministry of Health had announced the presence of two clusters linked to the British variant of Covid-19: one in Brittany and one in the Paris region. For the latter, the analyzes confirm that it is indeed the new form of the virus which appeared in England. A school leader tested positive for this strain, some of her colleagues also tested positive for Covid-19, but not in the form of this variant. Saturday January 9, all the inhabitants of the commune are called upon to be screened.
Why this worrying variant?
The British variant worries because it is more contagious than the form “classic“from the virus.”This variant has a transmissibility that is 50% higher than other variants of the virus“, explains Arnaud Fontanet to France News. A British study shows that 15% of contact cases of a person infected with this mutation of the virus contract it in turn, compared to 9% for the initial form of the virus. “There is currently no evidence that this new strain causes a high death rate or that it affects vaccines and treatments.“, However, said the director general of British health, Chris Witty.
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