Status: 13.10.2023, 19:17 PM
By: Momir Takac
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Currently, the Omicron sublineage Eris is causing rising corona cases in Germany. But a new variant could soon cause problems.
Berlin/Munich – The coronavirus has no longer played a role in Germany in recent months. The number of new infections was vanishingly small, and people wearing masks were very rare. But for the past six weeks, laboratory-confirmed cases have been piling up again – albeit at a low level. Reason enough for a virologist to warn.
It is not the Omicron sublineage EG.5 (also known as Eris), which is currently spreading in Germany, that is causing Isabella Eckerle headaches, but the BA.2.86 variant, which has recently appeared in many countries around the world. There are still only isolated detections, but it is astonishing "how many mutations this new variant has," the German physician, who works as a professor at the Center for Novel Viral Diseases at the University Hospitals of Geneva, told the news magazine Der Spiegel.
Virologist warns of Corona variant BA.2.86 - not yet detected in Germany
According to Eckerle, the new variant is "genetically about as different from Omicron as Omicron is from the previous variants." It is also suspected that human antibodies will have problems recognizing the new mutant (immune escape). If BA.2.86 manages to overtake the current variants in terms of transmissibility, Eckerle expects an increase in the number of infections soon.
"The virus is not done with us yet," warned the 42-year-old. "For me, Sars-CoV-2 is a category of its own, it is neither a banal cold virus nor can it be compared to influenza or RSV. It will continue to make certain groups seriously ill and cause complications; we still don't understand the mechanism behind it," the virologist explained. As an example, she cited Long Covid or neurological diseases caused by Corona.
Virologist Eckerle: Corona leads to staff shortages in clinics and doctors' surgeries in autumn and winter
For autumn and winter, Eckerle fears "a lot of infections, in all population groups", although no longer with the severity as at the beginning of the Corona pandemic. The "mixture of Sars-CoV-2, influenza, RSV and the seasonal respiratory viruses" could lead to staff shortages in hospitals and doctors' offices.
Richard Neher, a specialist in corona variants from Basel, pointed out that although BA.2.86 has rarely been sequenced so far, it has been sequenced in different countries. This indicates that it is already widespread. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the variant has not yet been detected in Germany.
Epidemiologist Zeeb advises corona tests and suspects high number of unreported cases
In view of rising numbers, epidemiologist Hajo Zeeb is already advising corona tests. "Anyone who has cold symptoms should test themselves again now to detect a corona infection and, if possible, not infect anyone," he told the editorial network Germany (RND). Tests continue to be reliable.
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Zeeb suspects a high number of unreported infections. "We have to assume that many people have just been infected with Corona and believe that they are only ill with a cold," said the epidemiologist. Because of the accumulation of the Omicron sublineage Eris in the UK, experts are pleading for a comeback of the mask. (mt)