UK Kent variant will sweep the world’ ‘

The Covid-19 variant, which was first detected in the UK's Kent province last year, is set to become the dominant strain and is going to sweep the world, the head of the UK's genetic surveillance programme has said.

"The new variant has ' swept the country' and 'it's going to sweep the world, in all probability'," Sharon Peacock, Director of Covid-19 Genomics UK (Cog-UK) told the BBC.

"Once we get on top of it or it mutates itself out of being virulent -- causing disease -- then we can stop worrying about it. But I think, looking in the future, we're going to be doing this for years. We're still going to be doing this 10 years down the line, in my view," Peacock added.

Data shows the most common symptoms of the Kent strain differ from other variants dominant in the UK. The most common symptom, reported by 35 per cent of people who tested positive, was a cough. Close behind was fatigue and muscle weakness, affecting 32 per cent of cases, and headache with 31 per cent.

A recent study has also revealed that the Kent strain has acquired a mutation similar to the South

African variant - making it more likely to resist vaccines. This means the antibodies produced by the immune system to fight the older version of the coronavirus may fail to recognise it in its new mutated form.

The UK variant is believed to have spread rapidly. This week, the World Health Organization has announced that the Covid-19 variant, known as B.1.1.7, has been reported in 86 countries.

In its weekly epidemiological update, WHO says the variant B.1.1.7 has shown an increase in transmissibility, and some evidence of increase in disease severity based on preliminary findings.

As of February 7, an additional six countries have reported cases of this variant.

A new study also suggested the UK variant is spreading rapidly across the US, raising concerns over another resurgence in the hardest-hit country.