The coronavirus mutations are on the rise.
In Germany, too, a variation is particularly prevalent.
SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach has the next forecast.
Munich / Berlin - It is probably more contagious and was first discovered in Great Britain: the coronavirus mutation B.1.1.7 *.
The variant is spreading rapidly in Germany.
The share of the British corona mutation in new infections is now 22 percent.
Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) said on Wednesday.
Two weeks ago this proportion was still six percent.
"We have to expect that the variant could soon become the dominant one for us too," said Spahn.
Coronavirus variant B.1.1.7 is spreading strongly in Germany
A mutation that first appeared in South Africa (B.1.351) now has a share of 1.5 percent, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).
The Brazilian corona mutation (P1) therefore accounts for 0.1 percent.
The RKI data on the British corona mutation B.1.1.7.
at least confirm the concerns of experts.
The latest developments in Flensburg (Schleswig-Holstein) show how explosive the situation is.
The number of infections there has risen massively in a short time, presumably because of the corona mutation.
Virologist Christian Drosten had already spoken about the changed variants in his first “Coronavirus Update” NDR podcast * in January and described the first findings as “very remarkable”.
Coronavirus mutations - Karl Lauterbach with gloomy Corona forecast for March
SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach * also expresses concern about the coronavirus mutations.
According to the epidemiologist, the number of infections will soon rise again.
"We are in a situation where our lockdown is enough to push back the wild-type variant", Lauterbach explained in an interview with moderator Alfred Schier at "phoenix personally", as the broadcaster announced in advance.
"But the mutation variant is slowly crawling up and at some point in mid-March it will be so widespread that then probably - mid-March / end of March - the total numbers will rise again."
These new mutations from England and South Africa and their combination of the two are "more contagious and probably more deadly".
Therefore, the incidence value of 35 is also useful.
Since the beginning of the Corona * pandemic, Lauterbach has repeatedly urged caution and appeals to common sense in the population.
His predictions are highly valued by some.
Others, however, categorically reject his expertise and suggestions.
The most prominent example: FC Bayern coach Hansi Flick attacks the politician Karl Lauterbach *.
Worrying coronavirus variant (variants of concern - VOCs for short) |
Suspected property |
British variant B.1.1.7. |
Increased portability |
South Africa variant B.1.351 \ t |
Reduced effectiveness of the immune response after infection / vaccination |
Manaus (Brazil) variant B.1.1.28 P.1 |
Indication of possible re-infection |
Coronavirus: Lauterbach warns of combination mutation in Germany
"I don't want to dwell on assigning blame, but rather stay positive and contribute to ending the pandemic," said Karl Lauterbach in the
Merkur.de
* interview, which incidentally took place before the FC Bayern coach's "Corona-Watschn".
He is sure that Germany will have to deal with corona mutations in the future.
The 57-year-old considers the spread of a combination mutation in Germany to be particularly dangerous.
The British partially carry the Escape variant from South Africa, and that is the most dangerous, Lauterbach explained in the
Merkur.de *
interview.
This combination mutation is as contagious as the British one and as immune to defense as the South African mutant.
They have a kind of protective screen against the body's immune cells, which the other variants are not as strong.
This so-called escape mutation is a kind of new virus for the body.
“I also believe that a third wave that is slowly building up in March can hardly be prevented, but it is up to us and how strong it will be,” Lauterbach warned in the
Merkur.de
interview.
The politician is a guest in numerous talk shows.
At “phoenix personal”, health politician Karl Lauterbach speaks about the dangers of virus mutations, the lockdown and the latest hostility on the Internet as well as from Bayern trainer Hansi Flick
(“phoenix personal” with moderator Alfred Schier runs on Saturday, February 20th , 0.00 a.m.)
.
Where do the corona mutations spread?
The RKI is now observing the corona mutations in Germany, trying to record and assess the situation.
Up until now there was no special database in Germany.
Mutations in this country were hardly monitored.
That should change now.
A report on the virus variants of Sars-CoV-2 is planned every two weeks.
The Berlin institute has announced the next one for the 8th calendar week (February 22 to February 28, 2020).
But can the risk of B.1.1.7 and other corona mutations even be calculated?
Corona mutations are not automatically recognized if the test is positive.
Virus variants can only be detected after so-called genome analyzes, i.e. sequencing.
And: not every positive corona PCR test is technically suitable for sequencing, reports the RKI.
Corona mutations have so far been detected in all 16 federal states.
The RKI published a table in its current report.
Accordingly, data was recorded from January 1st to February 15th.
However, the RKI points out: "There may be discrepancies between the data reported by the state authorities and the RKI, since the transmission of the IMS-ID is not yet complete, especially for sequenced cases."
According to this, NRW, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Thuringia are particularly affected by variant B.1.1.7.
The South African mutation B.1.351 is significantly less common in comparison.
But here NRW and Bavaria also top the table.
+
Corona mutations in Germany: The RKI has published a report on the virus variants.
© RKI graphics
Corona mutations in NRW - Here the corona mutants are spreading noticeably faster
The University Hospital of Münster (UKM) has now published a study on corona mutations with a view to North Rhine-Westphalia.
933 positive corona smears (the reference date was January 27, 2021) from 53 districts in North Rhine-Westphalia were examined for genetic changes by means of genome sequencing.
The British variant B.1.1.7 occurred most frequently, the university said.
The border region with the Netherlands was little affected.
"We have not been able to detect any significant accumulation of the British virus variant directly behind the border in German territory," said study director Prof. Alexander Mellmann in a UKM press release on the results.
However, the analyzes have shown a concentration of the corona mutants in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The more contagious Corona mutants are spreading in the metropolitan areas along the Rhine and Ruhr.
“In case of doubt, the dynamics of (air) travel are different from those in the Hochsauerlandkreis, for example,” said Prof. Mellmann, head of the Institute for Hygiene at the UKM.
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List of rubric lists: © Florian Gaertner / imago
