New Delhi: The latest research published in the British Medical Journal on Wednesday is a clear warning for people to stay alert and safe in the coronavirus period. The research team has found that the highly infectious variant of the novel coronavirus which swept across the UK last year before spreading worldwide, could be 30 to 100 percent deadlier than previous versions of the virus.
The UK variant of coronavirus – B.1.1.7 is linked to a significantly higher mortality rate amongst adults diagnosed in the community compared to previously circulating strains.
The UK-based epidemiologist had compared the death rates among people infected with the new variant and those infected with other strains.
They found that the new variant led to 227 deaths in a sample of 54,906 patients compared to 141 amongst the same number of closely matched patients who had the previous strains.
Lead author of study Robert Challen (at the University of Exeter) said that “In the community, death from COVID-19 is still a rare event, but the B.1.1.7 variant raises the risk. Coupled with its ability to spread rapidly this makes B.1.1.7 a threat that should be taken seriously.”
In November 2020, The UK variant of coronavirus was detected in the UK and it has been proven that the UK variant is significantly quicker and easier to spread. A low-risk people were also admitted to the hospitals because of this virus.
Leon Danon, senior author of the study from the University of Bristol also said that “We focussed our analysis on cases that occurred between November 2020 and January 2021, when both the old variants and the new variant were present in the UK.”
“This meant we were able to maximize the number of “matches” and reduce the impact of other biases. Subsequent analyses have confirmed our results,” Danon added.
“Monitoring for new variants as they arise, measuring their characteristics, and acting appropriately needs to be a key part of the public health response in the future,” Danon added.
Coronavirus cases are steadily increasing the European countries and Brazil. The government of Brazil on March 11 reported more than 2000 deaths in a single day.
Coronavirus pandemic consistently converting into a challenge for the all the nations and governments of many nations are going for the lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the nation.
The London government reports more than 42 lakh coronavirus cases and claim around 1.20 lakh deaths.
-Vinayak
