United Kingdom has raised alarm due to the new variant VUI-202012/01 or B.1.1.7. It is reported that this mutated form has great rate of transmission from human to human at a speed of 70%.

Scientists claimed that this is happening because it has got 17 mutations at a time and particularly the mutation in spike protein that attaches to the ACE-2 receptor in human cells has increased the rate of spreading as said by Andrew Rambut, a molecular evolutionary biologist at the University of Edinburg.

As the spread of the new variant is very fast, the UK authorities have laid strict lockdown in London and Southeast England. Among the 17 mutations, two are causing worry as they are related to spike protein, one mutation is called N501Y that allows the spike protein to bind to the host ACE-2 receptors very tightly and another mutation called 69-70 del that leads to loss of two amino acids in spike protein that are when in their actual form helps in increase immune response against the virus. This 69-70del gives a negative signal in PCR tests.

If the 69-70del mutation combined with D796H mutation, then the survival rate of the patient is almost zero as evident in case of a patient who has been given convalescent plasma but not survived reported by Ravindra Gupta, a virologist at the University of Cambridge.

So if infection cases are not reported or detected that does not mean that the virus has lost its efficacy, instead it means that the detection of the virus could not be done in a proper way as it has masked its presence by mutating itself.