Knowledge is evolving every day on Covid-19 and its variants. The strain discovered in the United Kingdom would be more deadly, according to British scientists.
In January, British government scientists said there was "a realistic possibility" that the English variant of the coronavirus is more deadly than other strains. In a new report, they indicate this time that it is "likely" that it is linked to a higher mortality and a higher rate of hospitalizations, while the country is still confined. "The overall picture is that of a 40 to 60% increase in the risk of hospitalization and the risk of death", explains epidemiologist Neil Ferguson, government adviser, cited by the New York Times.
Experts are putting forward several leads to explain why this variant would be more lethal than the others. The first is that people infected with this form of the SARS-CoV-2 virus would have a high viral load. This makes them more contagious, but could also affect the effectiveness of the treatments put in place. The other avenue they are exploring is the fact that this variant is more contagious, and therefore that it could more easily be spread in places where people at risk are found, such as retirement homes.
The authors of the report thus underline the need not to lift the restrictions put in place by the various governments of the countries where the variant has arrived and is in the process of settling down to last. Indeed, in France, it could be dominant in France "from the month of March", explained the researcher in epidemiology Renaud Piarroux on Franceinfo last January. While his estimate is supported by other specialists, US health authorities also believe that it could become the main form of Covid-19 in the United States in March.
Coronavirus: faced with more contagious variants, some fabric masks are not recommended
Read also: Coronavirus: what symptoms differentiate the English variant from the classic virus?
Follow us on Pinterest.
To find our best articles on Messenger, subscribe here.