Three countries have discovered a NEW Covid variant that contains dozens of mutations that could be evaded vaccines.
Virologists have discovered 32 mutations in the strain, even though case numbers are small.
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It is believed to be an offshoot from an older variant, B.1.1. It has been discovered in South Africa and Botswana, as well as Hong Kong.
Alpha, which put the UK in lockdown right before Christmas last year, had a lineage that included B.1.17.
Although only 10 cases of this new variant have been discovered, experts suggest that there could be many more.
Hong Kong’s infection was caused by an infected person who had traveled from South Africa. This raised fears that the infection could spread to other parts of the world.
Dr Tom Peacock from Imperial College is a virologist and tweeted about his discovery, saying that it was the first time he’d seen two mutations in the same variant.
According to the expert, the mutation profile of coronavirus was described as follows: “really awful”.
He said, “Exporting to Asia suggests that this may be more common than just sequences would indicate.”
“Also, the very long branches and high number of spike mutations indicate this could be of concern (predicted escape of most monoclonal antibodies).
“Worth emphasising this is at super low numbers right now in a region of Africa that is fairly well sampled, however it very very much should be monitored due to that horrific spike profile (would take a guess that this would be worse antigenically than nearly anything else about).”
It is not uncommon to find new variants, and they are rarely spread across multiple cases.
They can quickly die if they’re in a country that has a dominant version.
Dr Meera Chand is the Covid-19 Incident director at the UKHSA. She said: In partnership with scientists around the world, the UK Health Security Agency continuously monitors the status of SARS CoV-2 variants as new ones emerge.
“Viruses are known for mutating frequently and at random. It is not uncommon for small numbers to develop new mutations.
“Any variants showing evidence of spread are rapidly assessed.”
A spokesperson from UKSHA said that they are investigating and monitoring this variant.
Scientists claim that the super dominant Delta could undergo self-extinction. It was already reported in one area of the world.
Japan is seeing 140 cases per day despite only being infected by the Delta strain three months ago.
Japan endured its largest Covid wave in the late summer, with cases peaking at around 23,000 a day in August.
The wave came to an abrupt halt and is now almost dead. Tokyo only recorded 16 new cases last Friday.
Japanese genetic experts have suggested that the sudden drop in coronavirus has been caused by Delta mutating.
Delta was already far more transmissible than the original “Wuhan”The virus is now in China.
And other variations of Delta have been shown to cause fewer symptoms, carry immune-escaping mutations, or be even more fast-spreading.
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