The highly contagious British variant of COVID-19 is likely to become the most dominant strain in the world, according to a leading UK molecular biologist – who warned that scientists may be forced to monitor the mutant virus in the next decade.
“[It] is going to sweep the world, in all likelihood, ”Professor Sharon Peacock, head of the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium, said about the UK strain, known as B.1.1.7, in the BBC’s“ Newscast ”on Thursday .
Peacock, who runs a network of public health laboratories, said the variant had already spread to 50 countries – and could change in months or years.
“As soon as we get to the top of this [COVID-19] or mutates to stop being virulent – causing disease – so we can stop worrying about it, ”she said. “But I think that, looking to the future, we will do this for years. We will still do that 10 years from now, in my opinion ”.
The strain was first detected in Kent, in southeastern England, in September 2020 and spread to 34 U.S. states on Thursday. At least 932 Americans have been infected with the highly contagious variant, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Evidence suggests that vaccines work against the strain, which is up to 70 percent more contagious than the original COVID-19 virus – but scientists fear it will evolve to become like the South African strain, which is believed to be more inoculation resistant.
The Peacock organization currently analyzes 30,000 positive cases of the UK strain per day, 10 percent of which are selected at random for genomic sequencing, which investigates whether the virus is mutating.
There are certain “special features” that make strains of viruses more transmissible, deadly or resistant to vaccination, and the agency is “looking” for these factors, she said.
Other scientists have also warned of the evolution of the virus, with an extra mutation in the UK variant detected in at least 21 cases.
“The number of strings [of the UK strain] it is low at the moment, although enhanced surveillance is being carried out … There may be more cases out there, given the high transmission. We need to continue vaccinating and reduce transmission, ”Professor Ravi Gupta, an infectious disease specialist at Cambridge University, said last week.
Scientists around the world are closely watching the new variants that have emerged in the UK, South Africa and Brazil – and that have now arrived in the United States.