The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which causes COVID-19 disease, has hundreds of mutations, and one of them, frequently encountered during the second wave of the pandemic currently facing Europe, first appeared in Spain. , according to a study published on Thursday and conducted by Spanish and Swiss researchers, reports EFE.

Analyzes carried out by the University of Basel, the Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich and the Spanish consortium SeqCovid-Spain, together with the Higher Center for Scientific Research (CSIC), concluded that the new viral strain comes from Spain and has spread in recent months in Europe and elsewhere. regions of the world, transmits Agerpres.

The relaxation of summer travel restrictions and the fact that Spain is an important tourist destination have facilitated the spread of this variant of the new coronavirus genome, according to a statement issued by the University of Basel.

The researchers called this new mutation "20A.EU1", and the analyzes indicate its presence in 80% of the samples taken in Spain, in 90% in the United Kingdom and in 30% -40% in Switzerland.

The researchers believe that the appearance of this mutation in Spain, during the summer months, could be correlated "with a super-propagating event related to the presence of agricultural workers in the northeast of Spain", and later it is possible that the new strain to have spread throughout Spain and dozens of other European countries, reaching cases reported in remote regions such as Hong Kong and New Zealand.

However, there is no indication that this new variant of the virus could be more dangerous than the others, that it could behave differently, or that it would be the only one to prevail in the second European wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, in which other mutations were identified, the study authors said.