According to this expert, the surveillance of variants by Public Health France and the ANRS emerging infectious diseases reveals a truncated picture of the epidemic.
It would be necessary, according to him, to sequence 5% of the positive samples to have a clearer vision.
LE FIGARO.
- What is the situation of variants in France?
© Inserm / Patrice Latron
Philippe FROGUEL.
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The variants, in particular the British variant B.1.1.7, are becoming hegemonic for new infections.
Very soon the English variant, whose presence is increasing at the rate of 50% per week, will be the only one in the territory, as has been observed in Great Britain and Israel.
But its exact proportion is uncertain.
Because the results of so-called “screening” PCR tests, developed by private biology laboratories, overestimate the share of the English variant by 30% to 40%.
And these tests have difficulty in identifying and assessing the respective weight of the South African and Brazilian variant.
Last week we found 34%
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