New ‘disturbing’ mutation detected in UK variant of COVID-19

The highly contagious variant of COVID-19 that first appeared in the UK appears to have evolved again to include a new “disturbing” mutation, the researchers said.

Nearly a dozen cases have been identified which include a mutation known as E484K, which has already been identified in variants from South Africa and Brazil, the BBC reported.

“The most worrying mutation, which we call E484K, has also occurred spontaneously in the new strain Kent in parts of the country,” Calum Semple, an epidemic medicine expert who advises the UK government, told the radio BBC.

The highly contagious mutation changes the shape of the virus’s spike protein – the part of the bug that makes it infectious.

Experts now fear that E484K allowed strains from South Africa and Brazil to overtake the natural antibodies of those who already recovered from the infection in the first wave.

It also means that the mutation may mean the strain is more resistant to antibody or plasma drugs from coronavirus survivors, which help people fight off the virus, experts have said.

University of Leicester virologist Dr Julian Tang said the UK variant mutation “is a worrying development, but not entirely unexpected,” the BBC reported.

He urged people to follow lockdown orders in the UK to prevent the virus from continuing to mutate and spread.

“Otherwise, not only can the virus continue to spread, but it can also evolve,” Tang said.

The cases transferred to the UK were first detected in the English county of Kent, south-east London.

Public Health England said he was seen in 11 of the 214,159 samples they tested, the BBC reported.