Category: Europe
European Coronavirus News
WHO: B.1.617 Indian #coronavirus strain is now a Variant of Concern or VOC
A World Health Organization official said Monday it is reclassifying the Indian Sars-Cov-2 variant B.1.617 as a “variant of concern,” indicating that it’s become a global health threat. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead for Covid-19, said the agency will provide more details in its weekly situation report on the pandemic Tuesday but added that the variant, known as B.1.617, has been found in preliminary studies to spread more easily than the original virus and there is some evidence it may able to evade vaccines.
“as such we are classifying this as a variant of concern at the global level,” she said during a press conference. “Even though there is increased transmissibility demonstrated by some preliminary studies, we need much more information about this virus variant in this lineage in all of the sub lineages, so we need more sequencing, targeted sequencing to be done.”
Belgium: Five fully vaccinated care home residents infected with B.1.617.3 in vaccine breakthrough outbreak
Five residents of a care home in Borsbeek in Antwerp province have been infected with the so-called Indian variants of Covid-19, according to the Flemish Agency for Health and Care. One of those affected has died. All of the home’s residents have been fully vaccinated.
In three of the cases involved in the new outbreak, the Indian variant has been confirmed, and it is supposed the same goes for the other two. One has since died, and another is in hospital.
Image by meineresterampe from Pixabay
India: B1617 twice as infectious as UK #coronavirus variant B117
Early indications from an analysis of the growth of the B.1.617 variant of the Covid-19 virus has shown it to be at least twice as infectious as the UK variant and thrice as infectious as the variant behind last year’s Covid-19 wave.
Scientists involved in the whole genome sequencing as part of the Centre’s Covid-19 genomic surveillance exercise told The New Indian Express that this conclusion is based on the growth of this mutant, as compared to others, in districts where B.1.617 has been identified along with other variants in samples collected from infected individuals.
“We have been examining this data carefully and the way this lineage of virus, also called the double mutant, is growing as compared to others is remarkable,” said a senior scientist involved in the INSACOG project, a consortium of several institutions under the National Centre for Disease Control that carry out an extensive genomic surveillance. “For the public, what needs to be communicated very clearly is that there is a greater need to double mask and maintain social distancing as this virus is highly infectious.
** Update ** Tom Wenseleers: “Based on this data, the new variant from India has a very big transmission or growth advantage,” even over B.1.1.7, he says. “It’s kind of like the U.K. variant squared.”
UK: Indian #coronavirus variant B.1.617.2 already outcompeting B.1.1.7 in some areas of Britain
India: The stunning rise of the B.1.617.2 #coronavirus variant
UK government poised to declare Indian #coronavirus B.1.617 a Variant of Concern or VOC
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
UK: Indian #coronavirus variant B.1.617.2 already outcompeting B.1.1.7 in some areas of Britain
UK GOV: “B.1.617.2 has spread rapidly in India based on available data. There have been multiple importations to the UK and onwards transmission within the UK. In some regions, S gene target data suggests that this variant may be more frequent than is indicated by the current sequence data, due to the lag in sequencing, and may have replaced B.1.1.7 to some extent. Modelled growth estimates suggest that the variant is at least as transmissible as B.1.1.7. Further analyses are required with targeted comparator groups and improved correction for importation to refine the position on transmissibility. Some early laboratory data suggest limited antigenic change. There are insufficient data as yet to assess reinfection or vaccine effectiveness through national surveillance.”
UK.GOV: SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and variants under investigation in England, Technical briefing 10 (PDF download)
India: The stunning rise of the B.1.617.2 #coronavirus variant
UK: India is added to travel “red list” three weeks too late
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
UK: surge testing for Indian #coronavirus VOC B.1.617.2 begins in Bolton as some areas see 500% increase in cases
Mobile Covid-19 testing units are being rolled out in Bolton as surge testing gets underway in the borough’s coronavirus hotspots. People in Rumworth, Deane or Great Lever are being urged to get tested at the units. Infection rates in those areas have increased, with Rumworth South seeing cases rocket by 500 per cent, with an infection rate of 359.3 per 100,000 people. In Lever Edge, part of Great Lever, cases have increased by 40 per cent.
Bolton currently has the second highest infection rate in the UK.
UK: B.1.617 found in 24% of #coronavirus sequences in Bolton, mostly new VOC B.1.617.2
India: The stunning rise of the B.1.617.2 #coronavirus variant
Image by David Reed from Pixabay
France: 40 cases of Breton variant B.1.616 (20C/655Y) with #coronavirus mutations D614G, H655Y, G669S & V482A
As of April 28, 40 cases of infection with the 20C/655Y (B.1.616) variant have been confirmed (37 in Brittany, three in other regions). The diagnosis was made on a first positive RT-PCR from a sample nasopharyngeal in 13% of them, and from a deep sample in 68% of cases. All cases have a direct or indirect link with the enhanced surveillance zone in Brittany. The majority of cases are linked to transmissions within hospital clusters in the area. A few cases have been reported in link with a chain of transmission in the community but, to date, the monitoring indicators do not suggest a significant community diffusion of this variant in the population, whether in Brittany or elsewhere. Epidemiological investigations are continuing to characterize the episode and monitor the diffusion of this variant.
French Health Department Document: COVID-19: epidemiological update of April 29, 2021 (PDF download)
France: 32 cases of Breton #coronavirus variant B.1.616 reported
Image by françois zimmermann from Pixabay
Europe: EMA assessing reports of Guillain-Barre syndrome with AstraZeneca’s #coronavirus vaccine Vaxevria
“As part of the review of the regular pandemic summary safety reports for Vaxzevria, AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, the PRAC is analysing data provided by the marketing authorisation holder on cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) [1] reported following vaccination. GBS is an immune system disorder that causes nerve inflammation and can result in pain, numbness, muscle weakness and difficulty walking. GBS was identified during the marketing authorisation process as a possible adverse event requiring specific safety monitoring activities. PRAC has requested the marketing authorisation holder to provide further detailed data, including an analysis of all the reported cases in the context of the next pandemic summary safety report.”
European Medicines Agency Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) 3-6 May 2021
1: MayoClinic.org description of Guillain-Barre syndrome
Image courtesy of Doctor JanaDerivative: Momas, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
UK: B.1.617 found in 24% of #coronavirus sequences in Bolton, mostly new VOC B.1.617.2
Following a rise in cases in the UK and evidence of community transmission, PHE has reclassified B.1.617.2 as a Variant of Concern (VOC). This is based on evidence which suggests this variant, first detected in India, is at least as transmissible as B.1.1.7 (the Kent variant). The other characteristics of this variant are still being investigated.
Cases of B.1.617.2 have increased to 520 from 202 over the last week and almost half the cases are related to travel or contact with a traveller. The cases are spread across the country, however, the majority of the cases are in 2 areas – the North West (predominantly Bolton) and London – and this is where we are seeing the greatest transmission.
PHE Document – Confirmed cases of COVID-19 variants identified in UK
India: The stunning rise of the B.1.617.2 #coronavirus variant
UK government poised to declare Indian #coronavirus B.1.617 a Variant of Concern or VOC
India: double mutant coronavirus variant B.1.617 outcompeting B.1.1.7 UK variant
Image by David Mark from Pixabay
UK government poised to declare Indian #coronavirus B.1.617 a Variant of Concern or VOC
The UK government is thought to have detected more than 40 clusters of the Indian Covid variant B.1.617 in the UK, and is on the verge of declaring it a “variant of concern”. The mutant strain is thought to be driving the massive surge of infections in India.
India: The stunning rise of the B.1.617.2 #coronavirus variant
India: double mutant coronavirus variant B.1.617 outcompeting B.1.1.7 UK variant
Image by Adam Derewecki from Pixabay
Gamaleya Institute: ‘The next stage of the epidemic is the infection with the #coronavirus of farm and domestic animals’
Alexander Gintsburg, head of the Gamaleya institute that developed Russia’s Sputnik V human vaccine, was quoted in Izvestia newspaper as saying COVID-19 was likely to hit animals next. “The next stage of the epidemic is the infection with the coronavirus of farm and domestic animals,” Gintsburg said.
Russia has produced the world’s first batch – 17,000 doses – of COVID-19 vaccines for animals, its agricultural regulator said on Friday. Russia registered Carnivac-Cov in March after tests showed it generated antibodies against COVID-19 in dogs, cats, foxes and mink.
WHO: #coronavirus is airborne
WHO: The virus can also spread in poorly ventilated and/or crowded indoor settings, where people tend to spend longer periods of time. This is because aerosols remain suspended in the air or travel farther than 1 metre (long-range).
WHO: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): How is it transmitted?
Image by tomkohhantsuk from Pixabay
Nepal: new #coronavirus daily case rate still closely tied to India’s outbreak
Nepal’s daily coronavirus case is still closely tracking that of its neighbour India, Nepal may also be in need of assistance with medical supplies and equipment to alleviate suffering within the next 7 days.
“Nepal Health Ministry says situation unmanageable as hospitals run out of beds The country’s health system cracks as coronavirus cases surge, crossing the 5,000 mark.” Kathmandu Post Report
See aso:
Nepal: rise in #coronavirus cases has similar trajectory to India driven by B117 and B1617
Global: Sars-COV-2 – a virus that oscillates between killing 5,000 to 20,000 a day for an entire year?
How is this graph even possible? For more than one year the global death toll for Sars-Cov-2 has oscillated between ~5,000 deaths a day to ~20,000 deaths a day creating a pattern that is almost ECG like in its uniformity. Answers on a postcard please, because we do not see anything natural about this graph.
Graph courtesy of OurWorldinData.org
Cyprus: two-week lockdown imposed to try and reverse a spike in #coronavirus infections
A two-week coronavirus lockdown has been introduced in Cyprus from 26th March 2021. Cyprus has seen a surge in coronavirus infections over the last month, putting pressure on its healthcare system. Since March 2020, Cyprus has recorded over 60,000 cases of COVID-19, and some 300 deaths. The current daily case rate per million people is nearly 1,000.
Businesses including hairdressers, gyms, theatres and cafés will have to shut, along with retail businesses except for food and beverage or essential services.
in-cyprus.philenews.com report
Graph courtesy of OurWorldinData.org
Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay