Cases of Indian double mutation virus variant found in Scotland
THE discovery of a new coronavirus variant in the UK, which was detected in India, features two mutations that could be a cause for concern, an expert has said.
Public Health England reported that 73 cases of the B.1.617 variant have been confirmed in England as well as four cases in Scotland.
Officials have called it a “variant under investigation” rather than
“of concern”.
Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, said the variant featured two “escape mutations” – E484Q and L452R – that “are causing people to be concerned”.
He added: “There’s laboratory evidence that both of these are escape mutations.
“Basically, applying what we know about other human coronaviruses would suggest that this is going to be even less controlled by vaccine. But we don’t know that for certain at the moment.”
Number 10 has confirmed that Boris Johnson’s visit to India will still go ahead later this month despite the country’s soaring coronavirus cases and a new variant.
The Prime Minister had already scaled down his trip due to India’s rising number of cases.
The country has reported more than 150,000 new Covid cases per day for the past three weeks.
Speaking about the prime minister’s visit to India, a No 10 spokesman said the trip was already “slightly shorter than it will have been”.
Mr Johnson was due to spend four days in south Asia but after talks with Narendra Modi’s administration, the “bulk” of meetings will take place on one day, Monday, April 26.
“As you would expect, safety is obviously important and is a priority for us on this trip, which is why we will make sure that all elements of the visit are Covid-secure,” the spokesman said.
“We have said that the programme will be slightly shorter than it will have been and you can expect the main body of his programme to take place on Monday, April 26.”
Public Health England has designated the B.1.617 variant as a “variant under investigation” and said there was currently no evidence to suggest it caused more severe disease or that vaccines were less likely to work against it.
Officials said “all appropriate public health interventions will be undertaken, including enhanced contact tracing” after its detection, with PHE and international partners monitoring the situation “closely”.
Coronavirus cases have risen sharply in India in the past few weeks as the country battles a second wave.
There have been more than 13.9 million confirmed coronavirus cases in India and 172,000 people have died. However, the country is not on the UK Government’s “red list” for travel.
Red listing means refusal of entry to anyone travelling in the country in the previous 10 days and means a 10-day hotel quarantine for returning British or Irish nationals, or people with UK residency rights.
Downing Street has insisted that the red list of countries is “under constant review”, when asked why India has not been put on it despite its high number of cases.
A No 10 spokesman said: “We add and remove countries based on the latest scientific data and public health advice from a range of worldleading experts.
“We keep it under constant review and we won’t hesitate to introduce tougher restrictions and add countries if we think it is necessary.”
Viruses mutate all the time and the challenge for scientists is to work out which mutations change how the coronavirus behaves.
The new variant has two mutations: the first, E484Q, is similar to one found in the Brazilian, South African and Kent variants; and the second, L452R, has been found in a variant in California.
But the “double mutation” on its own isn’t unusual and has been found in other variants.
Prof Hunter added: “If you think about where the main variants have arisen – South Africa, the UK, California, Brazil, and now India – all of these are countries that have really struggled to keep case numbers down,” Prof Hunter said.
“So it’s not surprising. India has got a huge pandemic, and therefore that’s where you’re going to be getting the variant.”