New mutant strain of coronavirus threatens global fight to curb COVID-19

New mutant strain of coronavirus threatens global fight to curb COVID-19

JEDDAH: A new mutant strain of the coronavirus is threatening the global fight to end the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new strain causes the same medical conditions as the original but is 70 percent more infectious. It has been identified in the UK, several other European countries, Australia and South Africa, and the British health minister said on Sunday that it was "out of control.“

The new threat emerged just as the introduction of several vaccines developed in the US, Britain and China raised hopes throughout the world that the COVID-19 pandemic could be defeated. Scientists in the UK are now studying the mutant strain to establish whether it is resistant to vaccines, but it will be at least two weeks before they have a definitive result.

However, they are optimistic. Patrick Vallance, the British government's chief scientific adviser, said the new strain contained 23 differences, including the way the virus binds to human cells and enters cells.

Simon Clarke, associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, said the mutation affected the "spike protein“ that studs the coronavirus and gives it its name.

"If we look at the changes that those mutations make to the spike protein, which is the target for the vaccine,