The corona mutation B.1.1.7 causes enormous concern.
A higher risk of infection for the mutant now seems certain.
But is it more dangerous for children too?
Berlin - The uncertainty surrounding the corona mutation B.1.1.7, which is now also spreading in Germany after Great Britain, is increasing: The new coronavirus type is considered more
infectious
by experts
than the original variant
, so it should be easier to transmit.
It has not yet been possible to say with certainty whether it also leads to more serious illnesses or is even more fatal.
And another fear is currently causing concern, especially among parents: Is the
mutation also more dangerous for children?
Some experts suspect that the little ones can get infected more easily with the new virus variant.
Corona mutation more dangerous for children?
That's what a Munich infectiologist says
In the opinion of the
Munich infectious disease specialist
Christoph Spinner, there is no clear answer to
this question
.
“We don't know,” said the senior physician at the Munich Clinic on the right of the Isar in an interview with
Focus Online
.
Even with the
infectiousness
of children with the original variant of the SarS coronavirus 2, there has not yet been a final consensus among scientists.
Research now assumes that children are equally likely to get infected, but not as often, explains Spinner.
On the basis of this assumption that the risk of infection does not differ significantly in children and adults, the infectiologist assumes that the same applies to the new virus type B.1.1.7.
"Therefore, one can assume that this virus mutant, ..., probably also spreads similarly easily in children"
Christoph Spinner, infectiologist at the Klinikum rechts der Isar
This assumption has not yet been confirmed.
The physician with today's level of knowledge nevertheless has one assumption: "Therefore, one can assume that this virus mutant, which generally spreads more easily in humans, probably also spreads similarly easily in children," the senior doctor is quoted as saying.
Coronavirus mutations exacerbate the pandemic situation worldwide
Not only the
mutant from Great Britain is
currently causing further tension in the corona situation worldwide.
Virus mutations are also circulating in Brazil and South Africa, which some scientists believe could pose a particular risk.
For fear of a rapid spread of these variants, the measures in the fight against the coronavirus are being tightened worldwide.
The federal government also referred to the risk of mutations being detected in the current corona measures and the ongoing lockdown extension.
