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ARCHIVED - New highly transmissible Covid variant discovered in Spain
Experts believe the strain may be unique to the community of Asturias in Spain
Covid experts in the Spanish community of Asturias have detected several cases of coronavirus caused by two new variants, BA.4 and BA.5, of which there are hardly are precedents across the world. To date, a few of these infections have been registered in South Africa and one was found in Madrid, but none of the current patients have any history of travel.
According to the Microbiology laboratory of the Central University Hospital of Asturias (HUCA), both of these strains are even more transmissible than the original Omicron and stealth Omicron, and at the moment the technicians are leaning towards this new variant being “a specific evolution of the virus in Asturias, an autochthonous variant, since there is no evidence that the carrier patients have any relationship with those in South Africa.”
Given that so few cases worldwide have been documented makes the number reported in Asturias all the more striking: to date, there are 5 confirmed infections, 6 probable and 3 doubtful. Scientists intend to carry out more profiling of the samples by the end of the week to establish for sure if they are dealing with BA.4 or BA.5.
For the time being, given that the cases are contained, it seems unlikely that this new strain will change the course of the pandemic; however, the emergence of this variant shows yet again how quickly and effectively the virus is mutating, and will lend a lot of valuable knowledge to the development of future vaccinations and treatments.
Now read: How to get a Covid passport and How to book an appointment for a vaccination or booster jab in Spain
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