The highly contagious COVID-19 variant that first emerged in the United Kingdom appears to have evolved again to include a “worrying” new mutation, researchers said.
Nearly a dozen cases have been identified that include a mutation known as E484K, which has already been identified in the South Africa and Brazil variants.
“The mutation of most concern, which we call E484K, has also occurred spontaneously in the new Kent strain in parts of the country too,” Calum Semple, an outbreak medicine expert who advises the UK government, said on BBC radio.
The highly contagious mutation changes the shape of the virus’ spike protein — the part of the bug that makes it infectious.
Experts now fear that E484K has allowed the South Africa and Brazil strains to get past the natural antibodies of those who have already recovered from being infected in the first wave.
This also means the mutation may mean the strain is more resistant to antibody drugs or plasma from coronavirus survivors, both of which help people fight off the virus, experts said.
