Tuesday, January 26, 2021

British Mutation Studies
Virus type B.1.1.7 has been described as more lethal

British Prime Minister Johnson expressed skepticism that the Sars-CoV-2 mutation B.1.1.7 is not only more contagious, but more deadly than other strains. According to the latest studies, this skepticism is justified. However, the data position is too weak for the conclusion.

Death from infection with the Sars-CoV-2 mutation B.1.1.7 is markedly higher. This is what the Public Health Authority in England has done based on various studies in a Summary Communication was done. The authority refutes previous assumptions. It was already known that the virus mutation, which is spreading worldwide from Great Britain, is 70 percent more infectious than other Sir-COV-2 virus strains.

But four new studies that were presented during a meeting of experts called “New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group”, or NERVTAG for short, now come to a different conclusion: a study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Accordingly, within 28 days – there has been a 35 percent increase in the death rate in all age groups. Researchers at Imperial College also come to similar results in their evaluations. In studies conducted by the University of Exeter, the mortality rate from mutation B.1.1.7 is double that of other strains.

Many questions still unanswered

In view of these data, experts at NERVTAG believe that it is entirely possible that infection with a mutation of the virus increases the risk of death. However, the increase in mortality due to B.1.1.7 is not so drastic, they conclude in their communication. Based on the findings to date, they believe that 10 out of 1,000 60-year-old children who have been infected with traditional Sir-COV-2 strains will die from it. An infection with the new variant increases this number from 13 to 16 deaths.

However, from a scientific point of view, these data still do not allow any clear conclusions. So far, only eight percent of all Kovid 19 deaths in the country have been included in current studies. Only a few of them were infected with type B.1.1.7.

In addition, there are several influential factors on the course of Kovid-19 that could not be taken into account with previous studies. This includes age, gender, ethnicity, previous illnesses, and even occupancy of clinics. According to virologist Julian Tang, even the fact that winter death rates are generally higher for patients with certain pre-existing diseases, regardless of SARAS-COV-2.

“We need a lot more data before making such conclusions,” said David Strain of the University of Exeter, referring to the results. Nevertheless, it is already clear that this virus variant can bind human cells better than its predecessor. It is quite conceivable that the mutation will lead to immune system overreaction and result in severe courses that lead to death in many patients. However, the virus had already worked differently than expected at times.