The CDC first explains that mutations are completely normal and to be expected. “Viruses constantly change through mutation, and new variants of a virus are expected to occur over time. Sometimes new variants emerge and disappear. Other times, new variants emerge and persist. Multiple variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been documented in the United States and globally during this pandemic,” they write.
While multiple COVID-19 variants are circulating globally, in the United Kingdom (UK), “a new variant has emerged with an unusually large number of mutations,” they reveal. First detected in September, “it is now highly prevalent in London and southeast England. It has since been detected in numerous countries around the world, including the United States and Canada.”
There is also another variant that has “emerged independently of the variant detected in the UK” in South Africa, which shares some mutations with the variant detected in the UK. There have been cases caused by this variant outside of South Africa.
They also note that another variant recently emerged in Nigeria. “CDC also is monitoring this strain but, at this time, there is no evidence to indicate this variant is causing more severe illness or increased spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria,” they say.
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