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The appearance of a new strain of the emerging coronavirus (Covid-19) in Great Britain aroused the concern of epidemiologists, which caused the suspension of flights from many countries from British soil on Sunday.
British government scientific adviser Patrick Vallance noted that this new strain, in addition to its rapid spread, has also become the “dominant” form of the virus after causing a “sharp increase” in cases requiring hospitalization this December. This strain may have appeared in September in London or Kent (southeast), he said.
“The advisory group on the risks of new and emerging respiratory viruses is now considering that this new strain may spread faster,” Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, said in a statement.
This opinion is based on the observation of “a sharp increase in the number of injuries and cases requiring hospitalization in London and the South East compared to the rest of England in recent days,” said Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University. from East Anglia, to the Science Media Center website.
He added that “it seems that this increase is due to the new strain”, referring to the information provided by the health authorities.
However, “there is no evidence at this time that this new strain causes a high mortality rate or affects vaccines and treatments, but work is underway to confirm this,” according to Chris Whitty.
Concerned epidemiologists
Information about this new strain is very concerning, Professor Peter Openshaw, an immune system specialist at Imperial College London, told the “Science Media Center” website, especially since it appears to be 40 to 70 percent more transmissible. .
Professor John Edmonds from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine added: “This is very bad news. It appears that this strain is much more contagious than the previous strain.”
French geneticist Axel Kan said on his Facebook page that so far, “300,000 Cove-2 strains have been detected in the world.”
The new strain carries a mutation called “N501Y” in the “spiny” protein of the Coronavirus, which is present on its surface and allows it to adhere to human cells to penetrate it.
Dr Julian Tang of the University of Leicester said: “This strain spread intermittently earlier this year outside the UK, in Australia between June and July, the US in July and in Brazil in April.”
Professor Julian Hiscox from the University of Liverpool said: “Corona viruses are mutating all the time and therefore it is not surprising that new strains of SARS-Cove-2 have appeared. The most important thing is to know if this strain has characteristics that would affect human health, diagnostics and vaccines. ” .
Axel Kan noted that “the higher the number of infections, the greater the chances of a random mutation of the virus and the higher the frequency of the mutation.”
Suspension of flights
The spread of this new strain of the Corona virus led the British authorities to re-impose blockade measures in London and part of England (16 million people).
“Unfortunately, the new strain is out of control. We have to regain control of the situation and the only way to do that was to restrict social contact. It will be very difficult to keep it under control until a vaccine is distributed,” the minister said on Sunday of British Health Matt Hancock.
After the Netherlands suspended all flights from the UK, Germany is “seriously” considering a similar measure that also affects South Africa.
Likewise, Belgium will suspend flights and train traffic from Great Britain from midnight on Sunday (23:00 GMT).
Italy will also suspend flights with the United Kingdom following the discovery of the new strain of the Corona virus, Italian Chancellor Luigi Di Maio announced.
Read other articles about the new strain of Corona virus in Britain
Great Britain: new strain of Corona virus difficult to control
Global health: infection from new Corona strain may be higher
New strain of Corona virus. America asks for caution
The new Corona strain. Britain records the highest infections since the outbreak of the epidemic
Britain reimposes closure due to new Corona strain
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