Rospotrebnadzor has issued a statement in connection with a version of the coronavirus detected in the UK (VUI 202012/01 strain).

As emphasized in the department, mutations are "expected for viruses" and most often are just "neutral regional markers useful for tracing contacts", and the situation remains under control.

The Russian Ministry of Health said that data on the mutation of the coronavirus in the UK are being clarified in the course of work with foreign experts.

"Information about a possible new strain of coronavirus found in the UK is being verified by specialists who are in contact with foreign colleagues, including the World Health Organization," the department said.

We will remind, on December 14, 2020 in the UK, it was announced the discovery of a new variant of the coronavirus.

According to British doctors, he

could be the reason for the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the southeast of the country.

In this regard, restrictive measures were tightened in London, as well as in East and South-East England.

Similar steps have been taken in Scotland and Wales.

  • Restrictive measures introduced in a large part of the United Kingdom, where a new version of the coronavirus was discovered

  • Reuters

  • © Toby Melville

At the same time, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson admitted the risk of transmission of a new type of virus 70% faster than usual.

“It really looks like it (a new type of coronavirus -

RT

) spreads much more easily.

According to early analysis ... a new variety could increase the R index by 0.4 or more.

While significant uncertainty remains on this issue, the transmissibility of the new variant may exceed the transmissibility of the old, original variant by up to 70%, ”Johnson said.

The emergence of a new mutation of the coronavirus was also commented on by the World Health Organization.

The department noted that there is no evidence of a serious effect of the mutation on the structure of the virus. 

“At the moment there is no evidence that this species works differently.

But we, of course, are careful to assess the situation properly ... They (British colleagues. -

RT

) are trying to determine if there are any changes in the production of neutralizing antibodies.

And this check will be carried out for all identified varieties.

So at the moment we have no evidence that this species works differently, ”said Maria van Kerkhove, head of the technical team of the WHO Emergency Diseases Unit.

According to the WHO representative in Russia Melita Vujnovich, there is no evidence and sufficient data to say that the new subtype of coronavirus affects pathogenicity, severe morbidity and mortality.

She also reported on the WHO's recommendation to all countries to independently assess the risk of importing a variety of coronavirus when deciding on border closures.

According to media reports, WHO also confirmed the spread of the new version of the virus to countries such as the Netherlands, Denmark and Australia.

Isolate the UK

After the news of the increased contagiousness (ability to infect) a new type of virus in a number of European countries, they announced a decision to suspend flights from the UK.

The ban on flights was announced by the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Ireland, Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Turkey, Switzerland and a number of other countries.

Russia also announced a temporary suspension of flights with the UK.

"The restrictions come into force from 00:00 hours on December 22, 2020 and will be in effect for a week," the operational headquarters for the prevention of the import and spread of a new coronavirus infection in the Russian Federation reads.

Russian experts consider such measures to be justified.

“We have many citizens who are citizens of both Great Britain and Russia.

We have a lot of citizens who will go and go back and forth, "said Alexander Chepurnov, the former head of the laboratory at the Vector center, virologist, in an interview with RT.

In his opinion, it is necessary to exclude the emergence of a new version of the coronavirus in Russia.

The head of the department of microbiology of latent infections, virologist of the Gamaleya NICEM, Viktor Zuev, also said in a conversation with RT that the coronavirus subtype is spreading rapidly, so protective measures are necessary.

"Epidemiology remains unclear"

As the academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, president of the Dmitry Rogachev National Medical Research Center for Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Immunology Alexander Rumyantsev said in an interview with RT, it is not yet known what the clinical picture of the new version of the virus is.

Therefore, it is unclear whether the mutated coronavirus will be able to cause a new disease in those who have survived the disease or in those vaccinated.

“The epidemiology of this virus remains unclear.

That is, biological positions are only being studied all over the world.

It is not known whether the variant of this virus will have its own picture of the disease and whether it will overlap with the virus that we now have, ”Rumyantsev said.

According to the epidemiologist, first deputy chairman of the Education and Science Committee of the State Duma, Gennady Onishchenko, the coronavirus has already produced hundreds of mutations over the past year since the beginning of the epidemic.

  • The clinical picture of the new version of the virus has not yet been determined

  • Reuters

  • © Alexander Plonsky

“At the very beginning, when the coronavirus was developing in Wuhan, the first mutation occurred.

The strain remained the same, but it mutated towards increased contagiousness, it began to infect more.

Over the past year, there have been several hundred other mutations.

There is currently no scientific evidence that the virus has learned to bypass the current vaccines.

The borders with Great Britain were closed, and this is justified, it is necessary to sort it out properly.

And the main task now is to vaccinate the population as quickly as possible in order to stop the epidemic and reduce the number of possible mutations, "Onishchenko said in an interview with RT. 

A similar opinion is shared by the head of the Department of Virology.

A.A.

Smorodintseva of the Institute of Experimental Medicine, professor and WHO expert Larisa Rudenko.

In an interview with RT, she noted that currently only the increased rate of infection with the new version of the virus is known.

“The mutations that have arisen are more likely to cause a greater transmission - the virus began to be transmitted at a higher speed and activity.

For example, one person can infect three people.

At the same time, there is currently no data that would demonstrate that mutations changed the properties of the virus and that it is necessary to change the properties of vaccines, ”said Larisa Rudenko.