The Covid-19 mutant strain from Spain
A mutated breed of Covid-19 carried by holidaymakers returning from Spain may be partially responsible for the current”second wave” in Europe, a study has indicated. Like viruses, SARS-CoV-2 mutates because it replicates in its human hosts. Now it seems that a variant called 20A. EU1, first detected in farm workers in northern Spain in June, is the dominant breed across much of Europe. The Spanish analysis, which has yet to be peerreviewed, discovered that in September it was present in 40% to 70% of cases in Switzerland, Ireland and the UK. The mutation’s attributes include a change to the spike protein which the virus uses to latch onto cells. But it remains unclear whether this affects its transmission rate, or the symptoms it causes.