Getting to know VUI-202012/01, a new variant of the corona virus that caused a stir in the UK

Source: Reuters | Editor: SS Kurniawan

KONTAN.CO.ID – LONDON. British scientists are researching whether the rapid spread of the new coronavirus in Southern England originated from a new variant linked to the main mutation they had detected.

The mutations include changes to the important “spike” protein that the new coronavirus uses to infect human cells, according to a group of British scientists tracking the virus’s genetics.

However, it is not clear whether this is what makes it more contagious.

“Efforts are being made to ascertain whether any of these mutations contributed to increased transmission,” said scientists from the UK (COG-UK) Covid-19 Genomics Consortium in a statement Tuesday (15/12). Reuters.

Also Read: WHO investigates the emergence of a new strain of COVID-19 in the UK

The new variant, which British scientists have named “VUI-202012/01” includes a mutation in the region of the viral genome that codes for the spike protein, which in theory could cause the coronavirus to spread more easily between humans.

The British government on Monday said the increase in new infections may be partly linked to a new variant of the coronavirus, which moved London and many other areas to the highest levels of COVID-19 restrictions.

There is no proof

As of December 13, 1,108 cases of coronavirus with the new variant have been identified, mainly in Southern and Eastern England, according to Public Health England (PHE) in a statement.

However, there is currently no evidence that the variant is more likely to cause a severe Covid-19 infection, scientists say, or that it will make the vaccine less effective.

“Both questions require further study to be carried out quickly,” said the COG-UK scientists.

Also Read: Infection has reached 70 million, these are the 10 countries with the highest corona virus cases in the world

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