It is already on the advance in South America: the Lambda variant. A new study suggests that it is not only more contagious but also more resistant to antibodies.
Tokyo – After a short phase with single-digit seven-day incidences, the value is steadily increasing again in Germany as well. There is not much left of the dream of a corona-free summer – although the risk of infection is still significantly lower than during the high incidence phases last autumn and winter. The fact that the summer months are not as rosy this year as they were in 2020 is due not least to the influence of the delta variant. However, it is not the only mutant of the coronavirus that is more dangerous overall compared to the wild type.
Lambda variant could be more contagious – and also affect vaccinated people more
The World Health Organization WHO provides an overview of the particularly relevant variants of the coronavirus with a two-part typology. It currently classifies alpha, beta, gamma and delta as a “worrying variant” (Vairant of Convern). In a recently published study, a group of researchers from Japan argues in favor of adding another variant to the list: Lambda. The WHO currently lists this as a “variant of interest” – and thus underestimates its potential, according to the study, which was published as a preprint on the bioRxiv database at the end of July.
Laboratory tests have shown that lambda could be resistant to antibodies, reports Der Spiegel. Three mutations in the spike protein could be responsible. This could make it easier for viruses of this variant to break the vaccine protection that has built up after receiving a vaccine. Two other mutations could also make lambda more contagious.
Coronavirus: Study warns of lambda variant – in South America it is already further prepared
With these two properties, the variant would meet the criteria that the WHO lists for being classified as a variant of concern, the study says. Lambda could “pose a potential threat to human society,” says Kei Sato of the University of Tokyo, according to Spiegel, the lead author of the study. However, since the study results have not yet been verified by colleagues in a peer review process, he can only make statements about the significance of the results with reservations.
According to the WHO, an infection with lambda was first recorded in Peru in December 2020. According to the Tagesschau, she is now responsible for 80 percent of new infections in the country. According to the BBC, a third of the corona infections in Chile and Argentina were due to C.37 as early as mid-June, as Lambda is also called. Lambda was also found in Germany and several other European countries. (mp)
