Coronavirus: UK variant more deadly, new study finds
New research concludes the highly infectious UK variant is between 30 and 100 per cent more deadly than previous variants.
The highly infectious UK variant of COVID-19 is between 30 to 100 per cent more deadly than previous strains, according to new research published in the British Medical Journal on Wednesday.
The study compared death rates among people in the UK infected with the so-called UK variant (B117) against those infected with other strains, with scientists concluding that the variant had a considerably “higher rate of mortality”.
The research sample of people infected with the variant were between 32 and 104 per cent more likely to die from the virus than those infected with previous variants.
With more than 20 mutations in its genetic code, scientists suggest the variant is approximately 40-70 per cent more transmissible than previous circulating variants.
The peer reviewed study revealed that the variant led to 227 deaths in a sample of almost 55,000 COVID-19 patients, compared with 141 among the same number of patients infected with alternate variants.
Co-author of the paper, Dr Robert Challen, said while “death in the community from COVID-19 is still a rare event … the variant B117 raises the risk”.
“Coupled with its ability to spread rapidly this makes B117 a threat that should be taken seriously,“ Dr Challen said on release of the article.
Independent experts suggest the study’s findings complement previous preliminary evidence connecting infection with the UK variant with an increased risk of dying from COVID-19.
But other experts responding to the journal’s findings insist more research is required to determine precisely how the infection leads to an increased risk of death.
On Wednesday, the nation’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly said Australia has recorded 140 cases of the UK variant, adding that “they’ve remained in hotel quarantine“.
The variant was first detected in Britain last September, and has since been detected in more than 100 other countries.
The spread of the variant late last year saw a dramatic surge in cases across Britain, forcing the country to return to a third national lockdown.
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