Danish scientists believe the Kent variant of coronavirus is less infectious than previously thought. Analysis at the State Serum Institute in Copenhagen found the mutant strain, scientifically known as B.1.1.7, is 36 per cent more infectious than previous variants. This number is significantly lower than the 70 per cent figure first cited by Prime Minister Boris … Read more
The highly-infectious coronavirus variant B.1.1.7 which emerged in Kent in September 2020 had reached the US by November 6, new research shows. It is thought to have mutated inside a single patient in England struggling with a critical case of Covid-19 which forced the virus to adapt, changing its genetic code. University of Arizona researchers … Read more
Scanning sewage for new coronavirus variants is a viable strategy for speeding up detection of new strains which may be more infectious, a study has found. Wastewater analysis has previously been identified as a good way of spotting signs of local infection, but now Covid is rife around the world the focus has shifted towards … Read more
New mutant strain of coronavirus is discovered in Japan – as health officials say it has similarities to highly-contagious variants in Britain and South Africa Unseen strain found in Japan after plane passengers tested positive for virus Four men and women, in their teens to 40s, were found to have the new strain They had … Read more
New mutant strain of coronavirus that is surging through Britain is more contagious because it replicates in the throat, says study Birmingham University study found Covid variant patients had ‘high viral loads’ Swabs taken from throat of those with latest strain had higher levels of Covid Michael Kidd, who lead study, said findings could explain how … Read more
Three boroughs in and around London have become the UK’s Covid hot-spots for infection rates – with as many as 1 in 15 people having had the virus in one area alone. London’s Barking and Dagenham, the neighbouring borough of Redbridge, and the commuter area of Thurrock, in Essex, are all in the grips of … Read more
MONDAY THE WARD IS FULL – BUT THE CASES JUST KEEP ON COMING I’m a junior doctor at a city centre hospital in the North of England, but right now I feel more like a firefighter. Every day brings life-or-death decisions here where I work, on a Covid ward for the elderly. At today’s morning … Read more
Just when we thought we were about to defeat Covid-19 by launching our Oxford vaccine, an alarming strain of the virus has emerged to strike fear into the ministers and experts fighting the pandemic. Health Secretary Matt Hancock admitted yesterday that he is ‘incredibly worried’ about the fast-spreading mutant strain that has emerged in South … Read more
Current Covid vaccines could be reprogrammed to target new strains in just ‘a few days’, experts said today in a bid to calm fears about the South African variant. Top Government scientists have warned changes to the virus may mean the current wave of vaccines are less effective against it or don’t work at all. … Read more
The new mutant variant of ‘super’ coronavirus is indeed more infectious than previous variants, just as scientists feared, a new study finds. Imperial College London researchers found that the new variant that’s been wreaking havoc in the UK and arrived in the UK may be nearly 50 percent more transmissible, based on samples taken from … Read more