A new variant of the corona virus has surfaced in North Limburg. This mutation is considered to be of concern because the vaccination may not work as well for this variant.
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It also seems that this variant is more contagious than the original corona virus. It reports that National Institute for Health and Environment (RIVM).
Research
This variant, called B.1.525, was discovered during the RIVM’s germ surveillance in the GGD region of Limburg-Noord. Spokesperson Hans Buskes of the GGD Limburg-Noord can say little about the emergence of this new corona variant. “This research is done on the basis of a random sample. We are therefore now working with the RIVM to investigate how often it actually occurs. We are looking for more samples to do this.”
In addition, source and contact research is also carried out to see whether this specific variant has spread.
This latest corona variant has already been found in at least fifteen countries. He was first reported in Denmark.
Worrying
It appears that in this variant the so-called spike protein has been changed in such a way that the spines of the virus are better able to cling to human cells. The mutation that causes this is referred to as E484K. This particular mutation has previously been identified in the South African and Brazilian variants and is considered to be of concern.
Due to this mutation, the immune system built up after vaccination or a previous infection may not work as well. The virus also seems to bind more easily to cells in our body. This makes this variant potentially more contagious.
In addition to the E484K mutation, another characteristic mutation can be found in the B.1.525 variant (F888L).
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