The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Corona mutation from Garmisch really new? Drosten drops off tweet - expert explains special procedure

2021-01-19T09:29:51.046Z


A mutation of the corona virus was discovered in Bavaria. One that may not even be experts in the laboratory of the well-known virologist Professor Dr. Christian Drosten was known in the Berlin Charité.


A mutation of the corona virus was discovered in Bavaria.

One that may not even be experts in the laboratory of the well-known virologist Professor Dr.

Christian Drosten was known in the Berlin Charité.

  • A mutation of the coronavirus was discovered in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Clinic.

  • Samples are currently being examined at the Charité in Berlin.

  • The well-known virologist Christian Drosten urges calmness.

Update from January 18, 7.30 p.m.:

35 patients and employees at the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Clinic have been

infected

with a possibly new variant of the

coronavirus

.

Three samples are currently being

examined

at the

Charité in

Berlin

.

The clinic is expecting results by the end of January (see original report).

Clemens Stockklausner

, Deputy Medical Director and Chief Physician of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine at the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Clinic, announced

good news

on Monday.

"It is certainly not one of the well-known English or South African variants," he explained.

This is more contagious than the original virus.


According to Stockklausner, there is no mutation in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen variant at position 501 - this would be typical for the British and South African mutations.

“At one point, between 69 and 70, a small portion of a protein is missing,” he said.

This is the case with the British variant, but it also occurs with several international variants and has been proven several times in Germany.

It is still unclear whether the

virus variant

from

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is

really new and whether it has an impact on the infectivity or the severity of the disease.

Corona: Virus variant from Garmisch-Partenkirchen really new?

Drosten reports on Twitter

Christian Drosten

,

virologist

at the Berlin Charité, also commented on the mutation on Twitter.

"We have no evidence of any particular mutation," he explained.

He doesn't expect any surprises with sequencing at the moment.

"Don't worry," he wrote.

In general, it is not uncommon for viruses to change, explains Professor

Franz-Xaver Reichl

, who is responsible for the biological safety of bacteria and viruses at

LMU

.

"Viruses are constantly mutating," he says.

“It doesn't have to be threatening.

The vast majority of mutations are completely unproblematic. ”A virus could also be less dangerous.

It is important to discover mutations quickly.

"Then you can react quickly," explains Reichl.

The so-called

genome sequencing

of positive corona samples usually takes place in sequencing laboratories.

But: “The capacities are limited,” says Reichl.

“Great Britain is ahead of us.” A genome analysis is carried out there for every 20th positive PCR test.

"In Germany it is only the case for every 900 people," he says.

Therefore, the sequencing should also be evaluated here: "The aim is to achieve the English numbers."

The faster mutations are detected, the faster the

vaccine could be

adapted,

for example

.

However, this is not always necessary: ​​"The Biontech vaccine was tested against 20 virus mutations," explains Reichl.

“It has always worked.” In the case of larger mutations, one can react: “The new vaccine can be modified,” he says

Update from January 18, 3:15 p.m.:

In a press conference, the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Clinic and the District Administrator inform about the first findings of the

virus mutation - read here

.

Drosten experts confirm: previously unknown virus mutation discovered - in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Clinic

First report from January 17, 2021: Garmisch-Partenkirchen

- Winter.

It's not exactly the quietest phase in a hospital.

If it is usually the skiers who keep the doctors on their toes with their injuries, this year it is the corona virus that claims the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Clinic.

Doctors and administrative apparatus alike are busy trying to master the situation.

There are currently 52 infected patients, plus 21 employees.

A total of 18 positive cases more than last Friday.

As if that weren't enough of a challenge, another message from the house on Auenstrasse is making headlines:

A new variant of

the corona virus has been discovered in the

clinic

.

One that not even the experts in the laboratory of the well-known virologist Professor Dr.

Christian Drosten was known in the Berlin Charité.

Corona mutation discovered in Bavaria: Drosten colleagues confirm the suspicion

It is now well known that the virus mutates, i.e. changes.

"Since the beginning of the pandemic, over

12,000 changes in the sequences have been detected

worldwide

,"

emphasizes Frank Niederbühl, managing director of the hospital.

At the beginning of last week, the specialists in the laboratory of the Garmisch-Partenkirchner house discovered deviating results for the first time when examining smears.

A special laboratory device that the house acquired during the pandemic made it possible.

"The machine showed different results, so we followed them up," emphasizes Niederbühl.

Scare tactics would be absolutely dubious and inappropriate.

Frank Niederbühl

Drosten colleagues confirm: previously unknown corona mutation discovered in Bavaria

The clinic

benefited from

the

good contact with colleagues at the Berlin Charité

.

Dr.

Clemens Stockklausner, Deputy Medical Director and Chief Physician of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, made it.

Frozen samples from three patients were brought to the federal capital by courier last Wednesday.

The first response came on Friday night.

The

suspicion that it could be a change in the virus, the colleagues confirmed

in their report.

“It is a variant that the experts there were not even familiar with,” emphasizes Niederbühl.

But what does that mean?

"Scare tactics would be absolutely dubious and inappropriate," explains the managing director.

“The mere fact that it is a new variant

does not mean that it is more infectious.”

As has been shown, for example, with the British or South African variant of the virus.

Both are considered more aggressive and contagious.

In plain language: a lower viral load is enough to cause illness.

But even these mutations, according to experts, have not yet led to a higher mortality rate.

In addition

, there is no reduced protection from the known vaccines

.

Corona mutation discovered in Bavaria: Further meaningful details by the end of January

However, the doctors cannot give the all-clear either.

It remains to be seen whether the corona virus that emerged in Garmisch-Partenkirchen has other characteristics.

"We can't say that, we have to be that honest," explains Niederbühl.

But he does not see researching this as a “Garmisch-Partenkirchen thing.

We cannot do that as a municipal hospital. ”The experts in Berlin would have to investigate this question.

"That is now in the hands of the colleagues," confirms Stockklausner.

"We expect

a response with further and meaningful details

by the

end of January

."

No one is currently able to say

where the new virus variant comes from

.

The only difference is that not all patients in the clinic carry it with them.

To speak of a Garmisch-Partenkirchen mutation, Niederbühl considers nonsense.

“It can be anywhere, nobody notices.

The many variants are probably not even noticed by people. ”In this respect, he considers the closer examination that the federal government has now initiated with the reference laboratory of the Berlin Charité to be absolutely correct.

"I think in future it will no longer be enough to say whether a person is corona-positive or not."

Corona mutation discovered in Germany: measures in the clinic tightened again

Meanwhile, the fight against the spread of the virus in the hospital continues.

The measures were tightened again.

The corona stations and the affected stations on the fifth and sixth floors are now declared as isolation areas.

In plain language: the employees only enter it in full protective gear and are meticulously registered.

The entire staff is examined by rapid tests before the start of work.

The frequency of row smears among employees has been increased to twice a week.

Another 100 vaccinations are to be given on Monday.

The clinic and health department work hand in hand to track contacts.

Four contact investigators are currently in the hospital.

List of rubric lists: © Stefan Boness / Ipon via www.imago

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-01-19

You may like

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-27T16:45:54.081Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.