The virus variant B.1.617 discovered in India is considered highly contagious. It is probably also much more contagious than the so-called British variant. So far, 26 cases have been counted in Berlin – and the authorities expect an increase.
The coronavirus variant, which is considered particularly contagious and was discovered in India, has so far been detected 26 times in Berlin. A spokesman for the Senate Department for Health told the DPA news agency that six of these cases were linked to travel (data status: Tuesday).
The actual number of cases is therefore very likely higher: In two outbreaks – with two or four infected people – the evidence is only provided for one case each. Some results are still pending, said the spokesman on Wednesday.
Of the three known outbreaks, it was said that two were private households related to travel to India.
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The variant known by experts as B.1.617, which was first detected in India, has recently been classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as causing concern – as have the mutants found in Great Britain (B.1.1.7), Brazil (P. 1) and South Africa (B.1.351) were discovered.
In Germany, B.1.1.7 has prevailed over the past few months. The variants from Brazil and South Africa are found comparatively rarely, and there have been no upward trends so far.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) recently put the proportion of the Indian variant at less than two percent – albeit with an upward trend. A new RKI report with data on the variants is expected for Wednesday evening.
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The SAGE (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) expert committee, which advises the British government, wrote in a report a few days ago that it was “realistic” that the so-called Indian variant could be up to 50 percent more contagious than the one that is already considered very contagious British variant. In the UK, there were more than 2,300 known cases of the variant discovered in India by earlier this week. Many of the cases there are traced back to travelers from India.
According to the Frankfurt virologist Sandra Ciesek, the Indian variant can also weaken the effect of the vaccination, but not switch off its protection. “The variants from India have a slight immune escape, i.e. a slightly reduced effectiveness,” said the director of the Institute for Medical Virology at the Frankfurt University Hospital on Tuesday in the NDR podcast “The Coronavirus Update”. What one observes is “a slight limitation, but not a complete failure of the vaccinations”.
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