- A variant of the coronavirus found in Uganda has a change similar to a rapidly spreading variant in the UK and the USA.
- The variant in Uganda, called A.23.1, is “of potential biological interest,” said GISAID.
- The likely impact of its mutations is not yet clear.
A variant of the coronavirus was detected in Uganda with a mutation similar to the rapidly spreading variant in the United Kingdom, and it quickly became the most common coronavirus in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, a preliminary study reported on Thursday.
The newly emerged coronavirus variant evolved separately from the variant in the United Kingdom, which is “strain B” and is called B.1.1.7. The variant in Uganda is “strain A” and is referred to as A.23.1 in the study.
According to the Global Initiative on Avian Flu Data (GISAID), A.23.1 is a strain that has a number of “potential biological interest” variants, of which the variant in Uganda is an example.
From June to October 2020, strain A viruses accounted for only 25% of viruses in the Kampala region. As of December 2020, 49 of the 50 sequenced samples from the Kampala region belonged to the new strain A.23.1, the authors said.
There are more than 39,000 Ugandans infected with COVID-19 and 328 people have died according to the World Health Organization.
Crucially, the Uganda variant has genetic changes in the spike protein, the part of the virus it uses to infect human cells. The authors identified a certain mutation, P681R, which may mean that it behaves similarly to the UK variant, B.1.1.7, which has a similar mutation in its peak protein, P681H.
The variant in the United Kingdom is believed to be 30-50% more contagious than the original virus and is spreading rapidly throughout the world, including the United States, where the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted that it will become the most common variant of the coronavirus in March.
Scientists have also identified changes in a part of the spike protein known to be an immune target.
The document has not yet been examined by other experts in a peer review, and the likely impact of the variant on Uganda is not yet clear.
Variants of A.23.1 have been detected in other countries, as well as in Uganda, including the United Kingdom, Rwanda, Canada and Cambodia, according to GISAID.
In the UK, A.23.1 is being formally investigated by Public Health England because it has the E484K mutation – the mutation found in the variant in South Africa, which scientists believe helps to avoid antibodies.
There are 43 reported cases of A.23.1 in the United Kingdom, according to Public Health England (PHE). Variant A.23.1 with E484K is different from the UK variant, B.1.1.7, which also appears to have evolved into an E484K mutation and has been designated a “concern variant” by PHE. There were 22 people in the UK infected with variant B.1.1.7 who have an E484K mutation, according to PHE.