UK variant of COVID-19 has significantly higher death rate, study finds

LONDON (Reuters) – A highly infectious variant of COVID-19 that has spread around the world since its discovery in Britain late last year is between 30% and 100% more deadly than dominant variants previous ones, researchers said Wednesday.

In a study that compared death rates among people infected with the new variant of SARS-CoV-2 – known as B.1.1.7 – to those infected with other variants of the virus that causes COVID – 19, scientists said that the new variant the death rate was “significantly higher.”

The B.1.1.7 variant was first detected in Britain in September 2020 and has since been found in over 100 other countries as well.

It has 23 mutations in its genetic code – a relatively large number – and some of them have made it much easier to propagate. Scientists say it’s about 40 to 70 percent more transmissible than previous dominant variants that were circulating.

In the British study, published in the British Medical Journal on Wednesday, infection with the new variant resulted in 227 deaths in a sample of 54,906 patients with COVID-19, compared with 141 among the same number of patients infected with other variants.

“Coupled with its ability to spread rapidly, this makes B.1.1.7 a threat that must be taken seriously,” said Robert Challen, a researcher at the University of Exeter who co-led the research.

Independent experts said the results of this study add to previous preliminary evidence linking infection to the B.1.1.7 virus variant with an increased risk of dying from COVID-19.

The first results of the study were presented to the UK government earlier this year, along with other research, by experts on its Advisory Group on New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats, or NERVTAG.

Lawrence Young, virologist and professor of molecular oncology at the University of Warwick, said the precise mechanisms behind the higher death rate from variant B.1.1.7 were still unclear, but “could be related to higher levels of virus replication as well as increased transmissibility ”.

He warned that the UK variant was likely fueling a recent outbreak of infections across Europe.