Coronavariant B.1.525 has now been found in fourteen countries, according to an international survey kept by researchers from the University of Edinburgh, among others. The Netherlands is not mentioned on this yet, but the variant has also been discovered twice here.
B.1.525 deelt een mutatie met de B.1.351-variant die voor het eerst werd ontdekt in Zuid-Afrika. Door de mutatie kan het het immuunsysteem kan ontwijken. Onderzoekers in het VK en Nigeria hebben een nieuwe SARS-CoV-2-variant geïdentificeerd met mutaties die reeds aanwezige immuniteitsverlenende neutraliserende antilichamen te omzeilen. Het is sindsdien gevonden in 11 andere landen, waaronder Denemarken, de VS en Australië. B.1.525 kent een handvol mutaties, waaronder een op het spike-eiwit E484K. Deze mutatie werd ook aangetroffen in varianten die in Zuid-Afrika en Brazilië opdoken. B.1.525 vertoont overeenkomsten met de in hoge mate overdraagbare B.1.1.7-variant die ook in het VK opkwam. "We weten nog niet hoe goed deze [nieuwe] variant zich zal verspreiden, maar als het succesvol is, kan worden aangenomen dat de immuniteit tegen een vaccin of eerdere infectie zal worden afgeremd", zegt Simon Clarke, universitair hoofddocent cellulaire microbiologie aan de University of Reading in het VK, aldus The Guardian. Moderna en Pfizer werken inmiddels al aan de ontwikkeling van booster-shots om vaccins een voorsprong te geven tegen de vele nieuwe virusvarianten. Het goede nieuws is dat, omdat veel van de varianten dezelfde mutaties delen, nieuwe vaccinversies bieden waarschijnlijk tegen verschillende versies van het virus, zoblijkt uit een artikel i The Guardian. "Deze [E484K] verandering lijkt op dit moment de belangrijkste verandering te zijn die eerdere immuniteit van het virus lijkt te kunnen omzeilen", zegt Jonathan Stoye, van het Francis Crick Institute. Er is geen bewijs dat B.1.525 een ernstigere ziekte veroorzaakt of besmettelijker is, zegt Yvonne Doyle, de medisch directeur van Public Health England, volgens een verklaring tegenover Reuters.
When a virus multiplies, it can change just a little bit at a time. Usually, that change (or mutation) is so small that it has almost no effect on how sick you get and how the virus spreads. Sometimes a change ensures that a virus behaves differently and, for example, spreads more easily. However, the RIVM National Institute for Public Health and the Environment keeps a close eye on changes in the coronavirus SARS severe acute respiratory syndrome -CoV coronavirus -2 and its consequences.
Viruses are known to change frequently. There are thousands of variants of the coronavirus SARS severe acute respiratory syndrome -CoV2. In the laboratory, the RIVM National Institute for Public Health and the Environment is investigating which variants there are in the Netherlands and what that means for their distribution in the Netherlands. We call this kiemsurveillance . It is especially important to know whether the variants that are circulating also have new properties that entail additional risks. For example, because they are more easily transmitted, because they make people sicker, or because the virus variants respond less well to vaccination.
Variants in the Netherlands
Variants of the coronavirus SARS-CoV coronavirus -2 that are monitored and researched worldwide are:
- The British variant
- The British variant + E484K
- The South African variant
- Two Brazilian variants (P1 and P2)
- De variant B.1.525 + E484K + F888L
The overview below shows the status of the spread of the various virus variants in the Netherlands. What that means for the Dutch situation is stated in the weekly epidemic update of the RIVM.
| Virus variant | Number from germ surveillance | Number from source and contact research |
|---|---|---|
| British variant | 411 | – |
| South African variant | 26 | 28 |
| Brazilian variant P1 | 1 | 3 (with travel history) |
| Brazilian variant P2 | 2 (without travel history) | 7 (with travel history) |
| British variant with E484K mutation | 1 | – |
| De variant B.1.525 + E484K + F888L | 2 | – |
Difference proteins
The difference in the British, South African, Brazilian variants and the B.1.525 variant seems to be mainly in the changes to the ‘spike protein’, the spines of the coronavirus. The proteins of these virus variants may be better able to attach to human cells.
The British variant
In December 2020, the British variant of the virus was also found in the Netherlands. This happened in the RIVM laboratory. The British variant is now increasingly gaining ground in the Netherlands. More and more people are becoming infected with this variant.
Research in the United Kingdom has since made it clear that people who became infected with the British variant became sicker and died more often than was the case with the ‘old’ variants. The reproduction number of the British variant is estimated to be higher than that of the old variant. This number represents the average number of people who infect someone with COVID-19.
Children can also become infected with the British variant, although this happens less often than in adults. Research in the municipality of Lansingerland showed this. Children probably develop (mild) complaints slightly more often if they become infected with the British variant. The complaints are generally milder than those in adults. Infected children can pass on the virus within a household and also at school. It is not yet clear whether primary school children also transmit the variant viruses less often than adults, as is the case with the ‘old’ type. For now, there is no evidence that the vaccination will not protect against the British variant of the virus. This is closely monitored worldwide.
Worrying change in British variant (E484K)
Viruses are constantly mutating. Sometimes a virus variant benefits from certain mutations, for example because it spreads faster. These kinds of mutations give the virus variants an advantage over the old, circulating variants. Some mutations can appear independently of each other in different variants in the world. The United Kingdom has previously reported the occurrence of a new mutation in the British variant, E484K, in the ‘spike protein’. This E484K mutation is considered to be of concern and has been previously demonstrated in the South African and Brazilian variants. With this E484K mutation, the built-up immune system may be less good after vaccination or after a previous infection. The mutation is also likely to affect the strength of the virus’s binding to cells in our body. This E484 mutation in the British variant has also been demonstrated in germ surveillance in the Netherlands.
The South African variant
The South African variant was established in the Netherlands at the beginning of January 2021. This variant of the virus, like the British variant, also appears to be more contagious than the variant we had in the Netherlands so far, just like the British variant. How the virus responds to current vaccines is currently being researched worldwide.
So far there is no reason to assume that the disease course of the South African variant is different or more serious than that of the old variant.
The Brazilian variant
Two new variants of the coronavirus have been found in the Netherlands, both of which originated in Brazil. These are the P1 and P2 variants.
The P1 corona variant was mainly found in outbreaks in and around Manaus, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. With this variant, it is not yet clear whether the disease will develop differently. The variant has, among other things, three changes in the Spike protein, the spines of the coronavirus, which are considered to be of concern. These three changes are almost identical to the changes in the South Africa variant. With this variant, the immune system seems to be less good due to vaccination or because you have already had the virus. This is currently being researched (inter) nationally.
The P2 corona variant is a variant that is widely distributed in Brazil. With this variant, the immune system seems to be less good due to vaccination or because you have already had the virus. In this variant, too, much is still unclear about the way the disease progresses.
De variant B.1.525
A new corona variant (B.1.525) has been found in the germ surveillance in the Rotterdam-Rijnmond region and the Limburg North region. This variant was first reported in Denmark. This variant also has the mutation E484K together with another characteristic mutation (F888L). Further research is currently taking place in Denmark and the Netherlands.
Avoid contamination with mutations
The following applies to all variants of the corona virus: observe the measures. Get tested as soon as possible in case of (mild) complaints and strictly follow isolation and quarantine measures. If contamination with one of the variants is found, the GGD Municipal Health Service starts source and contact investigation.
RIVM previously reported that the conscious version of the virus was found in the regions of Rotterdam-Rijnmond and Limburg Noord. The institute is still conducting further research, as are the British and Danish health services, among others.
What is “extra alarming” about variant B.1.525 is that it contains a mutation that is also present in other problematic versions of the virus, such as the South African and Brazilian variants, says a spokesman for the RIVM. “This mutation appears to affect the functioning of the current generation of vaccines,” said the spokesman.
Source: Reuters, RIVM & Guardian
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