The Indian variant of the novel coronavirus has been discovered in Andalusia, South of Spain, regional Health Minister Jesus Aguirre said on Wednesday.
Accroding to MAP news agency, Spain is investigating another suspected infection in Valencia, involving a woman whose sister had recently traveled to India.
Six cases of the variant were also detected in neighboring Portugal this week.
Portuguese Health Minister Marta Temido said on Tuesday that there is a clear sign of "community transmission," since the people infected had not traveled to the South Asian country.
This variant is called "double mutant" because of two mutations present on its Spike protein, which allow the virus to penetrate the cells of the infected person.
The first mutation "L452R" is similar to the one observed in the Californian variant and the second "E484Q" is close to the "E484K" mutation, detected in the Brazilian and South African variants.
The Indian double mutant carries fifteen mutations instead of two and it is not the result of a fusion between the Californian and South African variants.
On Tuesday, the World Health Organization said the variant has been detected in at least 17 countries. WHO officials are still studying the variant, but said preliminary models suggest it could be more contagious.
