Drosten: "I don't think we'll have a bigger problem there anytime soon"

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The Berlin virologist Christian Drosten believes the rapid spread of the new coronavirus variant in Germany is unlikely.

“I don't think we'll have a bigger problem soon,” he told the German Press Agency on Tuesday.

It is quite likely that the variant with the designation B.1.1.7., Which was first detected in Great Britain, is now also in Germany.

"But with the current restrictions, this variant is unlikely to gain a foothold in this country." This is indicated by data published by the British health authority Public Health England (PHE).

Accordingly, B.1.1.7 is spreading.

particularly fast in comparison to already known variants of Sars-CoV-2 where inadequate restrictions lead to an increase in the number of infections.

In areas in Great Britain where effective measures apply, the new variant is also largely under control.

For Germany, Drosten concludes that the lockdown of the variant should leave little chance of spread.

So far, there has been no evidence that the new variant has an impact on the severity of the disease, said Drosten.

"This is very important for the population, who are now worried." There are also no signs of reduced vaccination protection.

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In a research paper, experts from the British health authority Public Health England (PHE) came to the conclusion that B.1.1.7.

is likely to be more transferable than other variants.

To do this, they evaluated data from different regions.

From the PHE model calculations, one can deduce that the number of reproductions - i.e. the average number of people infected by an infected person - is increased by around 30 to 40 percent in the new variant, depending on the location, said Drosten.

“That is considerable.” However, these estimates are fuzzy and should be treated with caution.

Drosten: "That is the good news"

The new variant of the virus is characterized by around 20 mutations in its genome.

The mutation, known as N501Y, should make it easier to enter human cells and cause infection.

According to Drosten, however, it is unclear what the variant has the decisive advantage.

It is conceivable that in B.1.1.7.

less exposure to viruses to become contagious.

But it is also possible that the variant ensures that an infected person has more viruses in their throat and is therefore more contagious.

It is positive that the new variant lacks a certain gene that actually increases the severity of the disease, said Drosten.

“That is the good news.” It could well be that B.1.1.7.

is more harmless.

This may also be a reason for the faster spread.

Because people with no or only mild symptoms tend not to isolate themselves and can therefore increasingly infect others, according to Drosten.

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On Monday evening, Drosten was even more concerned about the virus mutation.

"Unfortunately, this does not look good," he wrote on Twitter and shared new data from the British health authority.

The evaluation shows that virus variant B.1.1.7 is significantly more contagious than variants that have occurred previously.

Drosten assessed the scientists' assumption positively, according to which cases with the mutant only increased in areas where the overall incidence was high or rising.

This shows that the reduction in contacts works against the spread of the mutant.

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On Sunday he said that the new variant of the coronavirus circulating in Great Britain had already reached Germany.

At the same time he had been gripped by alarmism.

The virus has been in England since the end of September and was not even in focus in October.