The COVID-19 variant, which originated in the UK and is now spreading in the US, can be up to 70 per cent more deadly than previous versions of the bug, according to a UK study.
A group that includes experts from universities and public agencies in the UK, according to Fox News, found that the variant – known as B.1.1.7 – is about 30 to 70 percent more deadly than the original strain.
Scientists have already determined that the so-called Kent variant – named after the country where it was first detected – was probably so much more transmissible.
Prime minister Boris Johnson tweeted last month that it ‘could also be accompanied by a higher mortality rate.’
The new follow-up study, which examined a larger sample size of patients, appears to confirm the conclusions.
The findings of the advisory group for new and emerging respiratory virus threats were published on the government’s website on Friday.
“There is evidence from the analysis of several data sets that infection with VOC B1.1.7 is associated with an increased risk of hospitalization. [sic] and death compared to infection with other forms of the virus, the authors wrote.
The highly transmissible variant, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has spread to more than 80 countries, including the United States, where more than 1,000 cases have been reported in 40 states.
In the US, where the mutation was first identified in Colorado, it has since been detected in California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah and Wisconsin.
“These variants appear to spread more easily and rapidly than other variants, which could lead to more cases of COVID-19,” according to the CDC. “An increase in the number of cases will put more pressure on health care resources, lead to more hospitalizations and possibly deaths.”
The results of the analysis are worrying, says Dr David Strain, a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter Medical School and the clinical clue for COVID-19 at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital.
“The higher transmissibility means that people who previously had a low risk of catching COVID (especially younger fitter females) now catch it and end up in the hospital,” Strain said.
“This is emphasized by the latest figures for hospitalization, which now represent almost a 50:50 man-to-woman ratio, compared to the fact that it was mainly in men during the first wave.”
With Post threads