A newly identified variant of the coronavirus that may contain mutations has been discovered in the US and other countries, including the United Kingdom, Denmark and Nigeria.
The variant, B.1.525, has so far been detected in ten countries by genome sequencing, according to a report from the University of Edinburgh published on Monday. About 38 cases have been found in the UK, in samples dating from December, which is of concern because it contains a number of mutations, including one that also occurs in variants that originated in South Africa and Brazil.
It is suspected that the mutation, known as E484K, may help the virus to prevent neutralizing antibodies.
The researchers said it had similarities to the existing so-called British variant B.1.1.7, an extremely contagious variant that was first discovered in September in the south-east of England. At the time, scientists in the UK estimated that B.1.1.7 was 40 to 70 per cent more contagious than variants that had previously spread, based on an analysis of the affected population in Britain.
The discovery led to risk analysis by some experts in the UK, who said that the presence of the E484K mutation may mean that it has some resistance to some vaccines.
‘We still do not know how good it is [new] variant will spread, but if successful, it can be assumed that immunity to any vaccine or previous infection will be blunted, ”Simon Clarke, associate professor of cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, told the Guardian.
Clarke suggested that the UK should focus on stress tests for any variant containing the E484K mutation.
Ravi Gupta, a professor at the University of Cambridge and one of the scientists advising the British government on new and emerging virus threats, told the BBC that B.1.525 appears to be ‘significant mutations’ already present in some of the other new ones. variants have been seen.
“This is partly reassuring because we can predict what the likely effects will be,” Gupta added.
The finding comes as the US continues to implement the coronavirus vaccine. According to the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 50 million people have received the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, the only two that can currently be distributed in the US.
The coronavirus mutations pose a potential risk, even for vaccinated populations or even those who have recovered from COVID-19.
“While we are waiting for other countries to be vaccinated, we are still a bit exposed to the risk of increasing spread and new mutations,” said Dr. Dara Kass, medical contributor to Yahoo News, explained earlier.
“While the whole world would be vaccinated and the spread all over the world would stop, we would be much safer that new strains would not emerge with the same frequency as if an entire corner of the world had basically not been vaccinated,” Kass said. . added.
But variants from abroad are not the only concern. A recent Yahoo News report looked at the threat of variants already spreading in the US
Researchers in a study published Sunday reported that they observed seven new variants in states across the country. According to the research, all the variants originated in the USA, and all independently got a specific mutation that could make them more contagious.
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