Credit Department of Health and Social Care
#15,838
While the more transmissible B.1.1.7 COVID variant - which has been rife in the UK for the past three months - is currently the biggest concern here in the United States, in the United Kingdom the big worry is the introduction of new COVID variants which may be less susceptible to vaccines and evade acquired immunity from past infection.
Two international variants - B.1.351 (aka VOC-202012/02) and P.1 (aka VOC-202101/02) - are believed to have some of those characteristics. Of the two, the most worrisome may be P.1, although there is still limited information on its threat.
The most recent (Feb 24th) variant surveillance report from the PHE shows over 250 of the South African (B.1.351) variants have been detected, but zero P.1 (Manimus, Brazil) variants.
Yesterday the UK announced the first detections (n=6) of the P.1 variant in the UK. While 5 of the 6 cases identified have been contacted, isolated, and their close contacts are being notified, a 6th `community' case has not yet been identified, prompting a concertive public health response.
Cases of Variant of Concern first detected in Manaus identified in the UK
Up to 6 cases of the Variant of Concern first identified in Manaus, Brazil (P.1) have been detected in the UK. Public Health England (PHE) has identified 3 of these cases of the Variant of Concern in England.
Two of the cases in England are from one household in South Gloucestershire with a history of travel to Brazil and there is a third, currently unlinked case.
The cases in South Gloucestershire were rapidly followed up by the PHE Health Protection Team – cases and their contacts have been identified and retested. One case that had travelled to Brazil has been isolating at home with their household since returning to the UK.
PHE and NHS Test and Trace are following up with all passengers on Swiss Air flight LX318 travelling from Sao Paulo via Zurich and landing in London Heathrow on 10 February, to provide public health advice and test them and their households. Anyone who returned to the UK at that time should have gone home immediately from the airport and isolated for 10 days.
If you were a passenger on the flight and have not been contacted, please call 01174 503 174 to arrange a test for you and your household contacts.
Although the risk to the wider community is considered low, as a precaution, PHE, working in collaboration with South Gloucestershire Council and NHS Test and Trace, is taking swift and decisive action to deploy surge asymptomatic testing as well as increasing sequencing of positive samples from the area. Residents of South Gloucestershire should visit the council’s website for more information on testing. The most important actions are identifying cases and their contacts and supporting these individuals to isolate effectively.
Further investigation is underway regarding the third case in England. The individual did not complete their test registration card so follow-up details are not available. We are therefore asking for anyone who undertook a test on 12 or 13 February and hasn’t received their result or has an uncompleted test registration card, to call 119 in England or 0300 303 2713 in Scotland for assistance as soon as possible.
The P.1 variant has been designated ‘of concern’ as it shares some important mutations with the variant first identified in South Africa (B.1.351), such as E484K and N501Y. It is possible that this variant may respond less well to current vaccines, but more work is needed to understand this.
Dr Susan Hopkins, PHE strategic response director for COVID-19 and NHS Test and Trace Medical Advisor, said:
We have identified these cases thanks to the UK’s advanced sequencing capabilities which means we are finding more variants and mutations than many other countries and are therefore able to take action quickly.Background
- The important thing to remember is that COVID-19, no matter what variant it is, spreads in the same way. That means the measures to stop it spreading do not change. Stay at home and if you do need to go out for essential reasons, cover your nose and mouth, wash your hands thoroughly and keep your distance.
- We ask that individuals come forward for testing through the symptomatic and asymptomatic test sites across the countries in order to continue to drive down cases in the community.
Three cases of the variant have also been identified in Scotland but these are not linked to these 3 cases in England.
Since yesterday's announcement, news of the detection of the P.1 variant has become fodder for both the mainstream and social media. Politics aside, you'll find some expert opinions on the threats posed by the P.1 variant compiled by the Science Media Centre (SMC) below.
FEBRUARY 28, 2021
Expert reaction to up to six cases of the Brazilian Manaus P.1 variant of concern having been detected in the UK
It’s been announced that the Manaus P.1 variant of concern has been detected in up to 6 people in the UK.
(Excerpt)
Prof Nick Loman, Professor of Microbial Genomics and Bioinformatics, Institute of Microbiology and Infection, University of Birmingham, said:
Why is this a variant of concern?
“P.1, described in January by the CADDE project (https://virological.org/t/genomic-characterisation-of-an-emergent-sars-cov-2-lineage-in-manaus-preliminary-findings/586), carries several mutations that are seen in other variants of concern that are predicted to change the behaviour of the virus. These include E484K, which is predicted to make existing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 less effective, as well as N501Y which is potentially linked to increase transmissibility. P.1 is associated with a surge of cases in Manaus (in the Amazonas region of Brazil) late last year which experienced a second severe wave of COVID-19. This was concerning as it raises the possibility it is able more easily re-infect patients due to the mutations it carries. However the evidence for this is currently limited.
Do we know if it’s more transmissible than the dominant variant in the UK?
“We don’t currently know if this variant is more transmissible than B.1.1.7, the variant that is currently dominant in the UK.
Is it a surprise that it’s been detected here?
“It’s possibly somewhat surprising we haven’t seen it to date as it has been associated with high case numbers in Brazil, and has been detected in several other countries including Belgium, Italy and Switzerland as tracked by the CovLineages site (https://cov-lineages.org/global_report_P.1.html). This recent set of cases in the UK will need rapid epidemiological investigations to establish if there are further linked cases.”
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/confirmed-cases-of-covid-19-variants-identified-in-uk
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The UK does far more extensive COVID testing - and genomic sequencing of positive results - than the rest of the world, and is therefore better able to detect the arrival of variants of concern early.
Comparatively speaking, most other countries are flying blind when it comes to detecting variants.
While this knowledge provides a tremendous public health advantage, it remains to be seen whether - or for how long - these variants can be contained.
