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The researchers are particularly concerned that the Е484K mutation in the protein spike, present in a new variant of COVID-19, may prove resistant to certain vaccines. They say the new variant should be studied using peak tests.
Another variant of COVID-19 with a potentially worrying set of mutations has been found in the United Kingdom, reported The Guardian, citing researchers at the University of Edinburgh.
The new variant, called B1525, was detected by genome sequencing in at least 10 countries. The first sequences appeared as early as December and are said to have appeared in the UK and Nigeria.
According to the scientists, B1525 is similar in genome to the Kent variant, or B117 – first identified in southeastern England last September and now present in more than 80 countries around the world. It is estimated to be between 30 and 70 percent more lethal and between 35 and 45 percent more transmissible than the original virus.
The “set of potentially worrying mutations” refers in part to the Е484К mutation in the protein spike, which is also present in Brazil and in South African variants of the new coronavirus.
The researchers say that Е484K makes the virus more immune to antibodies.
According to Dr. Simon Clarke, associate professor of cell microbiology at the University of Reading, the presence of the E484K mutation in the South African variant was responsible for resistance to some vaccines.
“We still don’t know how well this [new] the variant will spread, but if it succeeds, it can be assumed that the immunity from any previous vaccine or infection will be attenuated, ”he said.
Dr. Clarke said that until more data is available on the new variant, it should be subject to outbreak tests.
“I think that until we know more about these variants, any variants that carry E484K should be subjected to peak tests, as it appears to confer resistance to immunity, however, this is generated.”
At least 32 cases of the new coronavirus variant have been reported in the United Kingdom. 35 infections were identified in Denmark, 12 – in Nigeria, seven and five – in the United States and France, respectively, with the first cases reported in Ghana, Australia, Canada, Jordan and Spain.