Covid-19: New variant possible of sweeping the World

The world is likely to face tough challenge as deadly Covid-19 variant now recorded on over 50 countries and more mutation possibly of causing global damage.

Hardly could anyone had predicted the extent of the current damage the virus has done to the world when the first case Coronavirus was reported in Wuhan less than two years ago.

The virus, which looked like previous pandemic including Ebola that would not last long, has already kill over 2 million people and infected over 100 million globally making it the most deadly disease that has ever rocked humanity.

This novel Covid-19 is now metamorphosising into a stronger and mutated one which is believed to be 30% more lethal than Covid-19 and likely to "sweep the world", the head of the United Kingdom's genetic surveillance programme says. 

Since being detected in September in Kent, a county known as the “garden of England” and popular with commuters because of its proximity to London, the B.1.1.7 variant has spread to more than 50 countries.

According to experts, the new variant may be 70% more contagious and 30% more deadly than other variants.

Speaking with BBC on Thursday, Sharon Peacock, the director of Genomics UK consortium, said that the Kent variant is on course to "sweep the world" in all probability.

According to her, even though the current Covid-19 vaccines have so far proven to be effective against B.1.1.7 variant and many others, any further mutation could go beyond control and resistance against current solutions by evading antibodies.

"What’s concerning about this is that the 1.1.7 variant that we have had circulating for some weeks and months is beginning to mutate again and get new mutations which could affect the way that we handle the virus in terms of immunity and effectiveness of vaccines," Peacock said.

"It’s concerning that the 1.1.7, which is more transmissible, which has swept the country, is now mutating to have this new mutation that could threaten vaccination."

The new virus popularly refer to as "variant of concern" by the UK’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group was first identified in Bristol, in southwest England.

So far, 50 countries including France, Germany, the U.S, Portugal, Italy among others have all reported cases of the new virus creating a tough war for the world to battle.