For the first time in Norway, a case of a potentially highly contagious Lambda variant has been recorded. The FHI is following these developments closely, but does not take into account that the new variant will dominate Norway.
The Lambda variety was first detected in Peru in August 2020, but has spread to many countries around the world in recent months.
Now the first case of the variant has been registered in Norway.
- There may be a few cases in Norway, but there is no certainty about it, says chief physician Preben Aavitsland at the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH).
The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies Lambda as an interesting variant and is following the developments closely.
- We're watching
The FHI cannot determine when or where in the country tested positive for the Lambda variant, but it has happened once in the last four weeks.
Currently, there is relatively little knowledge and no research into the new variant, but several international researchers fear that Lambda may be more contagious and less responsive to the vaccine.
- What is it about this variant that causes anxiety?
- It has some mutations that make it more infectious and may be immune to vaccination to some extent, similar to Delta. Informs Aavitsland.
Last week's weekly report stated that NIPH now sees this variant as a variant to watch for.
– This means that we are monitoring its effects, but it is becoming less and less interesting because it is unlikely to surpass Delta, which now dominates. This is Aavitsland.
Found in 40 countries
According to the global GISAD databases the Lambda variant is currently registered in over 40 countries.
The variety was widespread in South America, but has also spread to many European countries, including Sweden, Denmark, Spain, France, and Germany.
In Sweden, three cases of this variant have been reported so far.
- Currently, knowledge about this virus is very small. We know it's contagious, but we don't know if it's more contagious than the delta variant. Informs Ali Mirazimi, professor of clinical virology at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm.
May affect the spread of infection
WHO writes in its report, that Lambda has a few changes in protein plates. This may mean that the variant has changed properties that could make the virus more contagious.
"It's currently poorly mapped, but researchers in Chile believe it is about mutations in the spike protein of the virus, which, like the delta variant, can lead to increased infectivity and decreased antibody performance," says deputy health director Espen Rostrup Nakstad.
It is not uncommon for new virus variants to emerge and spread in Norway.
- How could the new virus variants affect the infection situation in Norway?
Reducing the effect of the vaccine could affect the spread of the infection and increase the likelihood of unvaccinated people coming into contact with the virus, says Nakstad.
Nakstad stresses that it is therefore important to detect and limit infection of new cultivars through testing.
. From one to 50 percent
The Lambda variant accounts for 81 percent of new cases in Peru in recent weeks, he writes The New York Times .
When researchers first discovered the variant last summer, it did not attract much attention. However, as the infection increased, scientists began to monitor the spread of the virus.
- Until March, it was 50 percent. samples in Lima. In April, it was already 80 percent. samples in Peru. The fact that it jumped from one percent to 50 percent is an early indicator of a more infectious variant. This says Dr. Pablo Tsukayama, molecular microbiologist at Cayetano Heredia University.
While the FHI is tracking the spread of the variant across Europe, Aavitsland is not concerned that the Lambda variant will take over in Norway.
- It has spread considerably in South America, but it does not seem to be able to outperform the Delta variant in Europe. It spreads easier than the original virus, but probably not easier than Delta, says Aavitsland.
