New Covid variant is 'most striking' amid concerns of how quickly it is spreading
A new variant has been detected
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Health professionals have shared worries as a recent strain of Covid now has more than 30 mutations.
It was first found in Denmark but has since been spotted in the UK and US.
The variant has not been officially named by the World Health Organisation but it has been referred to as Pirola.
It is a version of Omicron and it is not yet known fully how dangerous it is.
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While it has not been classed as an official cause for concern, scientists believe it could be more infectious than Omicron.
It has displayed around 33 mutations which means it may spread more quickly than other strains.
"Having changed their shape, they may become more infectious, they may become more disease-causing," infectious disease control expert at the University of Exeter Dr Bharat Pankhania said.
"On the other hand, they may not. We just don't know yet."
Professor of computational systems biology and director of the UCL Genetics Institute at University College London Francois Balloux added it is the "most striking" strain since Omicron.
Even if the variant is more transmissible, it is unlikely to cause a new wave of severe illness or death in the UK.
This is because many already have immunity to the illness. However, it is still important to be careful and a warning was issued for particularly vulnerable people.
Covid has been dealt with in the past by vaccinations, masks and lockdowns.
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An expert said another lockdown is unlikely
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She added it is unlikely a mandatory lockdown will be introduced for Covid in the future.
The expert said: "What we saw with Omicron and later waves of the pandemic, and even now, is that people are good at watching the data and they will take action themselves.
“You can see it in footfall going down. People actually start to manage their own socialisation, and the [viral] waves flatten off and come down.”
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