Filenews 10 March 2021
More deadly than 30% to 100% is considered the British mutation of the coronavirus, which has spread around the world since September, when it was detected.
According to researchers, the variant of coronavirus B.1.1.7 is highly contagious and has higher mortality rates.
In a study comparing mortality rates in Britain between people screened by the British mutant strain, and people infected by other strains, scientists found that the new strain is characterized by significantly higher mortality.
Variant B.1.1.7 was detected in Britain in September 2020 and has since spread to more than 100 countries.
It is noted that according to scientists in Greece the dispersion of the mutations of the coronavirus is large, to the extent that it is found that they now dominate the country.
The British variant has 23 mutations of the virus genetic code - a relatively large number of mutations - and some of them have been much more contagious. British scientists believe it is 40% to 70% more contagious than the other dominant variants of coronavirus to date.
In the British study published today in the British Medical Journal, infection with the new variant led to 227 deaths in a sample of 54,906 Covid-19 patients, compared to 141 deaths in the same sample of patients infected with other strains.
"Combined with its ability to transmit at speed, this makes B.1.1.7 a threat that needs to be taken seriously," said Robert Challengen, an Exeter University researcher involved in the research.
Source: protothema.gr
