South African Coronavirus Variant Found in UK

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Two Cases with South African Coronavirus Variant Found in UK
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  • Last week, the UK health secretary announced the discovery of a new coronavirus variant in some parts of England.
  • Recently, South Africa also announced the presence of a new variant likely causing the increase in cases in the country.
  • As of Wednesday, the UK has recorded two cases of the South African variant of coronavirus

South Africa is the latest country to report a new coronavirus variant. The country is currently battling a second wave, reporting over 9,000 new COVID-19 cases per day. The new variant, called 501.V2, was found in over 200 samples collected from more than 50 different health facilities. According to the country’s health minister Zweli Mkhize, the new variant is believed to be driving the second wave. The new variant possesses multiple mutations in the spike protein. That is the part of the virus that helps it bind to human cells. Thus, making the virus spread more quickly in the region.

Putting our data together with that in the UK, this [South African] variant is a bit more effective at spreading from person to person and that is not good. It means we have to get a bit better at stopping it.

Dr. Richard Lessells

Although the new variant seems to be spreading faster, there is currently no evidence of it causing a more severe infection. However, the fact that higher cases are being reported in younger age groups is concerning.

UK Reports Two Cases of South African Coronavirus Variant

Last week, UK announced the discovery of a new coronavirus variant in the southeast of England. This led to the placement of stricter quarantine measures across the country. On Wednesday the UK health secretary Matt Hancock confirmed the presence of another new variant in the country. The two cases discovered; both had the South African coronavirus variant. Moreover, they are both contacts of cases with a history of travel to Africa in the past few weeks.

The new variant in the UK which we’ve identified is very different to the variant in South Africa. اسرار لعبة البوكر It’s got different mutations. Both of them look like they’re more transmissible – we have more evidence on the transmission for the UK variant because we’ve been studying that in great detail with academic partners. مراهنات كرة قدم

Dr. Susan Hopkins of Public Health England

Speaking at the press briefing Matt Hancock called the new development ‘highly concerning’. He also revealed that the South African variant contains more mutations and is more transmissible than the one discovered in the UK.

Will the Vaccines Work?

The current information suggests that the mutations in the new variants allow a faster spread of the virus. Although the variant was found to be dominant among cases in South Africa, that is not the case with the UK variant. Both countries have placed strict travel restrictions to help control the spread.

Scientists from both countries are busy analyzing the variants further. There is no evidence of the virus being resistant to the current vaccines. لعبة الروليت اون لاين However, the South African variant seems to have mutations that reduce their sensitivity to antibodies. Scientists argue that it is still too early to tell the severity of the new variants or whether the current vaccines will work against them or not.

Reference:

South Africa Identifies New Coronavirus Strain Causing Surge in Cases. 18 Dec. 2020, www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-safrica/south-africa-identifies-new-coronavirus-strain-causing-surge-in-cases-idUSKBN28S2HH.

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