A new Covid variant has been discovered – here’s what we know so far

LONDON – A new coronavirus variant identified in Brazil has exacerbated concerns among public health experts and led to warnings that new species are likely to emerge.

News of the variant in Brazil comes after two separate mutant strains of the virus were discovered in the UK and South Africa earlier this year.

Researchers are urgently studying the Covid variants, which are believed to have similar characteristics, to gain a better understanding of the threat they pose.

Viruses naturally mutate and there is no evidence that the newly discovered strains have more serious disease outcomes.

However, the Covid variants are thought to be more transmissible than the original variant that caused the pandemic, and this could lead to a higher rate of serious infections and additional deaths.

Health authorities have recommended washing hands, standing at a distance and using personal protective equipment as a means of preventing the spread of viruses.

Earlier this month, Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) said it had discovered a new variant of Covid on Jan. 2 in four travelers from the Brazilian state of Amazonas.

A man in his 40s, found to be asymptomatic upon arrival in Japan, was hospitalized because his respiratory condition worsened. A woman in her thirties reported a sore throat and headache, a man between the ages of 10 and 19 had a fever, and a young woman over the age of 10 was asymptomatic.

This variant of the virus belongs to the B.1.1.248 strain and has 12 mutations in the spike protein, according to the NIID. Spike proteins are used by the virus to access cells in the body.

The NIID said it was difficult to immediately determine how contagious the new strain is and the effectiveness of vaccines against it.

To date, Brazil has recorded more than 8.3 million cases of Covid and 207,000 virus deaths, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. The South American country ranks second to the US in terms of Covid-related fatalities worldwide.

The UK imposed a ban on travelers from South America (and Portugal and Cape Verde) on Friday in an effort to prevent people from bringing the new variant into the country.

Transport Minister Grant Shapps told the BBC it was a precautionary measure. He added that scientists think the coronavirus vaccines will work on the new variant.

“ We’ve looked at this particular mutation, unlike many other thousands, very carefully seeing that there could be a problem, not so much that the vaccine won’t work, in fact scientists think it will work, but just the fact it is more spreadable, ” Shapps said according to Reuters.

On Thursday, Patrick Vallance, UK’s chief scientific adviser, told ITV that there was a “slightly higher risk” with regard to the Covid variant identified in Brazil when it came to vaccine effectiveness.

On December 14, health authorities in the UK notified a variant to WHO identified as SARS-CoV-2 VOC 202012/01. It’s unclear how the new strain came to be, but preliminary findings have shown it to be highly contagious.

It initially appeared in South East England, but has since become the dominant species in much of Great Britain, spreading to more than 50 other countries. As a result, numerous countries have banned travelers from the UK.

Separately, national authorities in South Africa announced the detection of variant 501Y.V2 on December 18. Preliminary studies have shown that the 501Y.V2 variant also has increased transmissibility. It has since been reportedly found in at least 20 other countries.

The variants, which arose separately, both share a genetic mutation of the spike protein.

Studies are underway to understand the transmissibility and severity of the newly discovered Covid variants, as well as their potential impact on vaccines.

After about 10 months of relative inactivity, “we have begun to see a marked evolution of SARS-CoV-2 with a repeated evolutionary pattern in the SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern emerging from the UK, South Africa and Brazil. , “Dr. Trevor Bedford, a virologist and associate professor at the University of Washington, said Thursday via Twitter.

Bedford, who also works with Fred Hutch’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, warned that the hypothesis was “highly speculative” on this point. “But separately, the fact that we’ve seen three troubling variants since September suggests more are likely to come.”

To date, more than 93.2 million people worldwide have contracted Covid-19, with 1.99 million deaths.

Professor Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, said Friday that the world has become “the playground for the virus to mutate and evolve, (especially) in countries that have allowed a higher prevalence.”