While the Delta variant now represents 40% of the tests screened in France, the Epsilon variant of Covid-19 is also starting to make people talk about it.
However, the one previously known as the California variant is nothing new.
The B.1.429 and B.1.427 mutations were first spotted in the United States in July and September 2020. But in May 2021, the variant was "
detected in 34 other countries,
" according to a study published in the journal Science July 1.
To discover
Covid-19: what we know about the Delta variant
Read also: Covid-19: is it risky to go on vacation in countries where the Delta variant circulates?
If the Epsilon variant is not one of the variants qualified as of concern by the WHO, it nevertheless joined the list of variants of interest in March 2021, where the Lambda variant is also found.
This means in particular that the transmissibility and the severity of the disease induced by the variant may be different from the original virus.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the US body that monitors contagious diseases, the transmissibility of the Epsilon variant is 20% higher than that of the first strain.
The study published in the journal Science also points out that this variant "
causes a modest but significant reduction
" in the effectiveness of the messenger RNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer / BioNTech.
A "variant under evaluation" in France
However, this variant worries less and less the American health authorities.
Indeed, the CDC downgraded it from variant of concern to variant of interest on June 29 “
due to the significant decrease in the proportion of B.1.427 virus circulating nationally and available data indicating that vaccines and treatments are effective against this variant
”.
Read also: Contagiousness, immunity, dangerousness: should we be afraid of the Delta variant?
In France, two first cases of infections with the Epsilon variant were spotted in January in an Alsatian hospital. A month later, a commune in Bas-Rhin had identified a cluster of this Californian variant. Following the identification of “
sporadic cases
” of this variant, Santé Publique France indicates for its part that the mutation is being evaluated by the health authorities, just like the Lambda variant.
