Virusvariant från Sydafrika upptäckt i Storbritannien – krav på omedelbar karantän

501.V2 Variant, or simply 501.V2, is a mutated variant of SARS-CoV-2—the virus that causes COVID-19. The variant was first detected in South Africa and reported by the country's health department on 18 December 2020. Researchers and officials reported that the prevalence of the variant was higher among young people with no underlying health conditions, but nevertheless still resulting in serious illness in those cases. The South African health department also indicated that the variant may be driving the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country due to the variant spreading at a more rapid pace than other earlier strains of the virus.Scientists noted that the variant contains several mutations that allows it to attach more easily to human cells because of three mutations in the receptor-binding domain (RBD) in the spike glycoprotein of the virus, including N501Y (a change from asparagine (N) to tyrosine (Y) in amino-acid position 501). This particular mutation has also been detected in Australia and the United Kingdom.