[ad_1]
Original title: A new coronary mutant virus appears in the UK, more than 1000 cases of infection
(Observer Network News) Recently, there has been a new round of increase in the number of new crown cases in the south east of the UK. Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed on December 14 local time that a new mutant corona virus has appeared in the UK, while the number of cases in the South East has risen sharply. Maybe it’s related to this.
The scientists said that now people must remain calm about the mutated virus, and it is too early to say the impact, but the mutation may involve the spike protein of the virus, and the new corona vaccine is designed around this.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported on December 14 that when Health Secretary Hancock briefed the House of Commons on the new corona epidemic that same day, a variant of the new corona virus appeared in the UK. . At least 60 local governments have confirmed this variant. The number of reported cases exceeds 1000. Scientists from the UK are conducting research on this and have reported it to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Screenshot of Hancock’s fourteenth report on the epidemicHancock told MPs that in the last week, the number of new crown cases has risen exponentially in parts of London, Kent, Essex and Hertfordshire in the south-east of the UK. “We have confirmed a variant of the new coronavirus, which may be related to the faster growth in the southeast.”
Hancock cautions that preliminary analysis shows that this variant grows faster than existing variants, but there is no evidence that this variant is more likely to cause severe disease or that the vaccine will not work.
Professor Chris Whitty, UK Chief Medical Officer, also said current swab test results for the novel corona virus show that the region where the virus variant has appeared in recent weeks is Kent and neighboring areas.
The British “Guardian” analyzed that the increase in cases in the south-east of the United Kingdom may be the result of multiple factors. Apart from the mutation of the virus, the second blockade in the UK is not as strict as the first. Schools and many stores are still open, and more and more people are returning to the residential areas of the city center. These factors have caused an increase in cases.
Starting in October, UK cases ushered in an increase. Source: Johns Hopkins UniversityOn December 14 local time, the WHO held a routine press conference on the new corona pneumonia. In response to the discovery of a new mutated corona virus in the UK that has infected thousands of people in England, Michael Ryan, director of the WHO health emergency project, said the virus will change over time and there are many types of mutations, the key is whether it will affect public health. At present this mutated virus is gradually circulating in the UK, and cooperation with international laboratories is needed to see if this mutated virus is circulating globally.
Maria Van Kokhoff, technical director of the WHO health emergency project, said WHO is collaborating with scientists around the world to study each variant. There is currently no evidence to show that variant viruses that appear in the UK behave differently. Researchers are looking at AND if there is a change in the antibody.
British scientists also expressed similar views. Professor Alan McNally, a medical expert at the University of Birmingham, told the BBC: “Let’s not be hysterical. The variation does not mean that it is more contagious or dangerous. This is something that needs attention … It is important to stay calm and be rational about the strain, because this is the normal evolution of the virus and we expect new variants to appear over time. “
BBC medical reporter James Gallagher analyzed that to understand whether a virus has mutated and new strains appear, a simple rule of thumb is to see if the “behavior” of the virus has changed. The appearance of new strains may be related to reasons not related to viruses. For example, after the summer tourist season, the “Spanish strain” appeared.
But Dr Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Foundation in the UK, said this could be serious. “Monitoring and investigation must continue, and we must take the necessary steps to get ahead of the virus.”
The BBC also analyzed that this change or mutation involves the spike protein of the virus, which is the part that helps the virus infect cells, and the new corona vaccine is designed around this part.
On day 14, there were 20,263 new confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia and 232 new deaths in the UK. In the last week, the number of confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia increased by 14% compared to the previous week, with an average of 18,023 new patients each day and an average of more than 420 deaths per day. There were 16,531 hospitalized cases of new coronary pneumonia nationwide.
On the same day, the British government announced the implementation of a series of new epidemic prevention measures. Due to the sharp increase in confirmed cases in London and some surrounding areas, the epidemic prevention level has been raised from 0:00 on the 16th to the third level. Currently 34 million people in England live in the highest level of tertiary epidemic prevention areas. The total number of people in the second-level epidemic prevention area is 21.5 million and another 700,000 people are in the lower-level first-level epidemic prevention area.
