Share this page!

Dr Emma Hodcroft Profile picture
Twitter logo
20 Nov, 4 tweets, 3 min read
The new #SARSCoV2 variant we identified recently, 20A.EU1, has jumped to New Zealand a few times (& been caught in quarantine) - but this interesting preprint shows how it seems to have transmitted in-flight, from individuals originating in Switzerland:
research.esr.cri.nz/articles/prepr…
Just for the avoidance of all doubt (I know I've been covering a lot of stuff lately!) this isn't linked to mink/Denmark, but the variant that's currently most prevalent in Europe, spread through summer travel. You can read more about it here:
This preprint was made possible by a long list of great people - unfortunately I do not know twitter handles for them all - but it was led by Tara Swadi & Jemma Geoghegan & involved @hamesjadfield @alexeidrummond @edwardcholmes & @Joepdl
This paper also highlights a critical point: while 20A.EU1 may have originally expanded in Spain, it has certainly spread from other European countries since then.
If you can't cut the transmission chain of a variant in your own country, you become the next 'source'.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Dr Emma Hodcroft

Dr Emma Hodcroft Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @firefoxx66

Dr Emma Hodcroft Profile picture
20 Nov
Gentle reminder that in Switzerland we are still feeling our way in the dark: with a #SARSCoV2 test positivity this high, the # of cases we report is largely linked to the # of tests we do.
While there are other signs cases are going down, we have a poor grasp on how much.

1/5
You can see this in this great cantonal graph by @gust_avius.
While tests & cases will always be linked somewhat, it's a bad sign when every jitter in testing is reflected perfectly in cases. It means we can't see exactly how case # are changing.

2/5
It's an even worse sign for places like Basel-Stadt, Schaffhausen, & Zug, where a decline in tests hasn't seen a same-size decrease in cases - in some cantons cases have even risen or plateaued despite the decrease in tests.

3/5 Image
Read 5 tweets
Dr Emma Hodcroft Profile picture
4 Nov
Recently reported #SARSCoV2 #COVID19 '#mink mutation' in #Denmark is getting a lot of attention right now, but officially we know almost nothing about the variants/mutations in question.
From an SSI report from Sept, here is a little info.

ssi.dk/-/media/arkiv/…

1/21
*Very important caveat* here that I'm working with very limited information, but trying to make some sense of something that's getting a lot of attention, with the little info I can find. However, this should be taken as a tweet thread, not a preprint or anything similar.

2/21
On page 8, the document describes 2 variants, defined by mutations A22920T & a 2 amino-acid deletion from 21766-21771. Both are changes in the Spike protein.

3/21 Image
Read 58 tweets
Dr Emma Hodcroft Profile picture
4 Nov
1/ Very important to keep in mind that we've essentially reached #SARSCoV2 #COVID19 testing capacity in #Switzerland. Tests have plateaued but positivity is still >20%.

This makes it *very difficult* to read anything into the case numbers. I would urge caution with all analyses.
2/ There has been talk about hoping we can see signs of measures working by end of this week.

But, many cantons are restricting tests, lines are very long in places, & overall Switzerland can't really test more.

This makes it difficult to see whether restrictions are working.
3/ In the analogy where #SARSCoV2 testing is 'switching on the light' to fully understand the scope of the pandemic, #Switzerland has walked to the edge of where our lightbulb can illuminate.

At the cusp of darkness it's hard to see. Let's not make a leap of faith. #TestTestTest
Read 4 tweets
Dr Emma Hodcroft Profile picture
3 Nov
Looking back as we face a daunting #COVID19 winter: where did it all go wrong?

- We acted like we had an endless summer: didn't scale up #TestandTrace or plan ahead
- When cases rose, we hesitated. Priority on economy & freedom rather than lives means we're losing all three

1/6
We live in a world where a lot of things - politics & the economy in particular - are swayed by feelings & confidence. Politicians are used to being able to 'say things until they're true'.

Sadly, this doesn't work for viruses. Most leaders have not adjusted accordingly.

2/6
A lot of breath has been wasted on rhetoric:
'#COVID19 cases WILL come down'
'The economy WILL recover'
'Schools WILL stay open'

#SARSCoV2 cares little for words. Communication & messaging is important, but it is only /action/ that saves lives & livelihoods.

3/6
Read 5 tweets
Dr Emma Hodcroft Profile picture
29 Oct
Why is #COVID19 sequencing important? For one thing, it is the only way we can detect & track new variants.

In our latest preprint, we describe a novel #SARSCoV2 variant that has spread across Europe this summer & what it can tell us.

Read it here: medrxiv.org/content/10.110…

1/16
This work was a fantastic joint effort with @MoiraZuber @SarahNadeau19 @TanjaStadler_CH & @richardneher in Switzerland & brilliant collaboration with @icoes & @fgonzalezf from SeqCOVID-Spain consortium.

Huge effort in getting this out quickly!

2/16
The 20A.EU1 variant is characterised by spike mutation A222V & accounts for >20% sequences circulating in Europe currently. Another variant, 20.EU2 has the mutation S477N and is about 15% of sequences.

We focus on 20A.EU1 - you can see both here:

nextstrain.org/groups/neherla…

3/16
Read 18 tweets
Dr Emma Hodcroft Profile picture
27 Oct
3 years ago today I took my kitty under 1 arm & my bike under the other & boarded the plane to Basel

Today is another bittersweet day: I turned in my paperwork for the end of my time at @UniBasel @biozentrum

Monday, I start a new adventure w @C_Althaus @unibern @ISPMBern!

1/9
My time at the @biozentrum @UniBasel has been wonderful. I have been empowered & supported to do great research as part of a great community. The sense of community is strong- not always so easily found in academia!
And I am grateful to have benefitted from @antelope_unibas!

2/9
It seems like a small and obvious thing, but during my time here one of the things that sticks with me is that I have been able to *focus on doing my job* - because admin & support staff are clearly on my side! I haven't had to battle bureaucracy or beat against walls.

3/9
Read 9 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Like this author's thread?

Get email notifications when new thread is out from this Author!

Check out other threads from this Author!

Read all threads by @firefoxx66