SARS-CoV-2 Variant Spreading Through Europe

A non-peer-reviewed study published on October 28, 2020, found a variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that emerged in early summer 2020 has since spread to multiple European countries.

The variant, known as A222V, was first observed in Spain has been at transmission frequencies above 40% since July 2020. Outside of Spain, the frequency of this variant has increased to 40-70% in Switzerland, Ireland, United Kingdom, Norway, Latvia, the Netherlands, and France.

These researchers stated: 'Sequences in this cluster (20A.EU1) differ from ancestral sequences at 6 or more positions, including the mutation A222V in the spike protein and A220V in the nucleoprotein.'

'Another mutation, D614G in the spike protein, has received much attention. This variant (Nextstrain clade 20A) seeded large outbreaks in Europe in early 2020 and subsequently dominated the outbreaks in the Americas, thereby largely replacing previously circulating lineages.'