The COVID-19 variant in the UK has a significantly higher death rate, the study shows

LONDON (Reuters) – An extremely infectious variant of COVID-19 that has spread around the world since it was first discovered in the UK late last year is 30% and 100% more deadly than previous dominant variants, they said. said researchers on Wednesday.

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

Variant B.1.1.7 was first detected in the UK in September 2020 and has since been found in 100 other countries.

It has 23 mutations in its genetic code – a relatively large number – and some of them have made it spread much more easily. Scientists say it is about 40% -70% more transmissible than previous dominant variants that were circulating.

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

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

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

The initial findings of the study were presented to the British government earlier this year, along with other research, by experts from its advisory group on new and emerging respiratory virus threats or the NERVTAG group.

Lawrence Young, a virologist and professor of molecular oncology at the University of Warwick, said the precise mechanisms behind the higher death rate of variant B.1.1.7 are not yet clear, but “could be linked to higher levels of replication of virus, as well as increased transmissibility ”.

He warned that the British version is likely to fuel a recent rise in infections across Europe.