Are the dangerous coronavirus mutations from Great Britain and South Africa in the Munich area already on the rise?
People at the university hospital on the right of the Isar are skeptical.
In
Munich
, the number of corona cases is slowly falling.
A laboratory reports a rapid increase in corona mutations.
The Munich infectiologist Dr.
Christoph Spinner expresses restraint and warns against actionism.
Munich - The report of the
pharmacy survey
caused a stir.
Accordingly, the Becker & Kollegen laboratory, one of the largest medical laboratories in Bavaria, found clear indications at various locations between December 28, 2020 and January 21, 2021 that the two new variants of Sars-CoV-2 * were in and around Munich spread quickly.
In the
500 positive smears
tested by January 7, using a new test method that the laboratory helped develop, only one sample showed a mutation - that was 0.2 percent.
For the
smears from January 20, it was 4.7 percent
and on January 21, 8.1 percent of the analyzed positive smears had one of the two mutations - the
British B1.1.7
and the
South African B1.351
.
Are corona mutations raging in Munich?
Experts estimate “a clear sign of this ...”
However, the
numbers should
be viewed
with reservations
, emphasizes Professor
Jürgen Durner
, specialist in laboratory medicine at Becker & Kollegen, in the health magazine: "With regard to the positive tests in all of southern Germany, this is a very small sample that is also not representative." But the tendency should be taken seriously.
The steep rise is a "clear sign that the new variants are currently spreading very quickly."
Another indication could be the current outbreak in Berlin: The Humboldt Clinic there has been in quarantine since Saturday because 20 people tested positive for the
British Corona variant
.
How did the mutated virus get to the clinic?
Not clear.
Corona mutations in Munich - Spinner: "We shouldn't act rashly"
In Munich, the number of reported
coronavirus cases has
recently
fallen sharply.
138 new infections and three more deaths were reported for Saturday.
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the seven-day incidence in Munich was 79.9, as low as it was last in October 2020. Follow the corona events in Munich in our current
news ticker
* .
+
Infectiologist Dr.
Christoph Spinner warns against actionism.
© Astrid Schmidhuber
This is
another
reason why
Dr.
Christoph Spinner
, Senior Physician Infectious Diseases and Pandemic Officer at the Klinikum rechts der Isar of the Technical University of Munich, skeptical.
"In our clinic on the right of the Isar, the mutations have not yet been detected," he says.
“I am surprised that the mutants should increase proportionally with the overall number of infections falling.” After all, this was the case in almost every tenth sample in the analyzes by Becker & Kollegen.
Spinner warns against actionism
.
So far there have been
no reports in Germany
that the British virus mutation B1.1.7 has been detected in people unrelated
to Great Britain
.
"We shouldn't act rashly," says Spinner, "but look carefully, analyze the situation and derive appropriate measures from it."
Are the Corona variants dangerous?
According
to current knowledge, the
British
coronavirus mutation B1.1.7
and the
South African variant B1.351
are more
contagious
than the original coronavirus variant *.
Both have an altered
spike protein
that sits on the surface of the virus and more easily attaches to human cells.
On the other hand,
SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach
was concerned about
the results of the Munich laboratory.
"Relevant," he tweeted on Saturday.
That could be the first indication of a faster spread of the two variants in Germany.
"The data is very preliminary and needs to be checked, but it is worrying."
Infectiologist spinner prefers to refer to the
current positive development
.
In general: "
If there are fewer new infections, the mutations also have less chance of spreading
."
* Tz.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network
The first corona patient was admitted a year ago: The
big interview on the anniversary of the pandemic with the head of the Munich Clinic Dr.
Fisherman.
Follow the Corona events in Munich in our current
news ticker
*.