Antonino Galofaro (in Milan), edited by Laura Laplaud / Photo credit: MANUEL ROMANO / NURPHOTO / NURPHOTO VIA AFP
More than three years after its appearance, the Covid-19 has definitely not said its last word. Since mid-July, a new variant has appeared, Eris, also nicknamed “EG5”. A variant closely monitored by the World Health Organization but also by these citizen scientists who track all new variants of the coronavirus.
Since July 15, the Covid-19 has had a new variant: Eris. Also nicknamed “EG5”, it is monitored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and is now the most widespread in France. A variant “to follow” according to the WHO, which is already used by amateur Covid hunters. Ordinary citizens who have become hunters of variants of the coronavirus. In Italy, Federico Gueli is one of them.
“A work halfway between the academic and scientific world”
This dog trainer works surrounded by dogs in the green and mountainous province of Lake Como, in northern Italy. A priori, Federico Gueli has nothing to do with the medical world. However, in 2020, during the pandemic, he becomes “hunter, researcher, observer of variants”. “It’s a job halfway between the academic and scientific world. We are looking for a needle in a haystack”, he explains at the microphone of Europe 1.
Citizen scientists organized in communities
This educator of man’s best friend tracks down anomalies in the sequences of one of his worst enemies. Identifying several identical abnormalities makes it possible to discover a new variant. It is based on a platform where some 18 million Covid sequences are listed. All this self-taught. “I had nothing to do during the quarantine, so I got interested in that. But I don’t have any specific skills. I understand things a bit, but only to a point. I don’t have not the university education that allows me to go further,” he says.
Citizen scientists like Federico Gueli are organized into communities, led by real researchers. They discovered 90% of the variants of the coronavirus.