In addition to the 3 coronavirus variants of concern – English, South African and Brazilian – so far there have been “6 variants designated as of interest (You) and another 19 are currently under investigation”, under observation. The World Health Organization takes stock, in a focus of its weekly update on Covid.
Above all “as long as the global incidence remains high” with the contagion continuing to run, the WHO warns, “for the next few months there continues to be the risk of the appearance of more variants with phenotypic implications”. Some of those already present, summarizes the institution, “have been associated with a greater severity of the disease (English and South African), increased risk of immune escape (South African and Brazilian) and reductions in neutralization (South African and Brazilian) by convalescent or vaccinated sera compared to the parent virus, suggesting an increased risk of reinfection or vaccine failure “.
The three variants continue to spread. Since the last update, the English one has been detected in 5 other countries for a total of over 137 countries that have observed it on their territories as of April 20, also the South African one in another 5 for a total of 85 countries, while the Brazilian variant it has appeared in 2 other countries for a total of 52 that have reported it so far. The virus mutates and it is normal that there are a number of variants that end up under observation, but the possible emergence of more dangerous mutants, notes the WHO, “introduces further unknowns such as the potential for immune escape and how these changes in the virus can affect global epidemiology. “