A coronavirus variant, described as a “double mutant” that was first detected in India, has now been found in the UK.
According to Public Health England, 77 confirmed cases of the “B.1.617 strain” have so far been identified in the UK — 73 in England and four in Scotland. Some scientists have described the variant as a “double mutant”, because it carries two different mutations —“E484Q and L452R”.
Concerns have been raised that in combination, these two mutations make the strain potentially more infectious and better at evading antibodies gained from prior infections or vaccinations.
Prof. Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, said the arrival of the India variant was potentially worrying.
“These two escape mutations working together could be a lot more problematic than the South African and Brazilian variants who have only got one escape mutation,” he said. “It might be even less controlled by vaccine than the Brazilian and South African variants.”
It is not clear how the variant entered Britain. The rapid increase of Covid cases in India has become headline news in the UK, with some commentators surprised by the
Narendra Modi government’s decision to allow mass meetings for the assembly elections as well as festivals such as the Kumbh Mela.