SARS-CoV-2 Kappa variant
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SARS-CoV-2 Kappa variant[1] is a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. It is one of the three sublineages of Pango lineage B.1.617. The SARS-CoV-2 Kappa variant is also known as lineage B.1.617.1 and was first detected in India in December 2020.[2] By the end of March 2021, the Kappa sub-variant accounted for more than half of the sequences being submitted from India.[3] On 1 April 2021, it was designated a Variant Under Investigation (VUI-21APR-01) by Public Health England.[4]
Mutations[edit]
| Gene | Nucleotide[5] | Amino acid[5][6] |
|---|---|---|
| Spike | T21895C | - |
| T21895C | E154K | |
| T22917G | L452R | |
| G23012C | E484Q | |
| D614G | ||
| C23604G | P681R | |
| Q1071H | ||
| ORF1ab | C3457T | - |
| C4957T | T1567I | |
| A11201G | T3646A | |
| G17523T | M5753I | |
| A20396G | K6711R | |
| P314L | ||
| G1129C | ||
| M1352I | ||
| K2310R | ||
| S2312A | ||
| N | G28881T | R203M |
| D377Y | ||
| M | I82S | |
| orf3a | C25469T | S26L |
| orf1a | T1567I | |
| T3646A | ||
| orf7a | T27638C | V82A |
| Source: covariants.org[6] and PHE Technical Briefing 9[5] | ||
The Kappa variant has three notable alterations in the amino-acid sequences, all of which are in the virus's spike protein code.
The three notable substitutions are: L452R, E484Q, P681R[7]
- L452R. The substitution at position 452, a leucine-to-arginine substitution. This exchange confers stronger affinity of the spike protein for the ACE2 receptor along with decreased recognition capability of the immune system.[8][9]
- E484Q. The substitution at position 484, a glutamic acid-to-glutamine substitution. This alteration confers the variant stronger binding potential to Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, as well as better ability to evade hosts' immune systems.[10][11]
- P681R. The substitution at position 681, a proline-to-arginine substitution.[12][10]
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) are listing a fourth spike mutation of interest:[13]
- D614G. The substitution at position 614, an aspartic acid-to-glycine substitution.[14] Variants which have the D614G mutation are associated with increased infectivity.[15][16]
International detection[edit]
The Kappa variant was first identified in India in December 2020.[2]
By 11 May 2021, the WHO Weekly Epidemiological Update had reported 34 countries with detections of the subvariant,[17] however by 25 May 2021, the number of countries had risen to 41.[18][19] As of 19 May 2021[update], the United Kingdom had detected a total of 418 confirmed cases of the SARS-CoV-2 Kappa variant.[20]
On 6 June 2021, a cluster of 60 cases identified in the Australian city of Melbourne were linked to the Kappa variant.[21]
Community transmission[edit]
A Public Health England technical briefing paper of 22 April 2021 reported that 119 cases of the sub-variant had been identified in England with a concentration of cases in the London area and the regions of the North West and East of England. Of the 119 cases, 94 had an established link to travel, 22 cases were still under investigation, but the remaining 3 cases were identified as not having any known link to travel.[5]
On 2 June, the Guardian reported that at least 1 in 10 of the cases in the outbreak in the Australian state of Victoria were due to contact with strangers and that community transmission was involved with clusters of the Kappa variant. However, infectious disease expert, Professor Greg Dore, said that the Kappa variant was behaving "the same as we've seen before" in relation to other variants in Australia.[22]
Statistics[edit]
| Cases of Kappa variant (B.1.617.1) by country (As of 20 June 2021) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Confirmed cases (PANGOLIN)[23] as of 20 June |
Cases (other sources) | First detection |
 India |
3084 | - | |
 United Kingdom |
379 | - | |
 United States |
255 | - | |
 Germany |
95 | - | |
 Singapore |
59 | - | |
 Australia |
81 | - | |
 Ireland |
129 | - | |
 Canada |
170 | - | |
 Denmark |
26 | - | |
 France |
14 | - | |
 Japan |
19 | - | |
 Belgium |
10 | - | |
 Switzerland |
10 | - | |
 Portugal |
8 | - | |
 The Netherlands |
10 | - | |
 Ghana |
8 | - | |
 Bahrain |
8 | - | |
 Brazil |
11 | - | |
 Hong Kong |
7 | - | |
 Qatar |
7 | - | |
 Luxembourg |
5 | - | |
 Spain |
5 | - | |
 Italy |
6 | - | |
 South Korea |
12 | - | |
 Mexico |
6 | - | |
 Angola |
17 | - | |
 Sweden |
5 | - | |
| World (27 countries) | Total: 4,446 | Total: 0 | Total as of 20 June 2021. |
See also[edit]
- SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant
- SARS-CoV-2 Beta variant
- SARS-CoV-2 Gamma variant
- SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant
- SARS-CoV-2 Theta variant
- SARS-CoV-2 Iota variant
References[edit]
- ^ "Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants". www.who.int. 31 May 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
- ^ a b "Weekly epidemiological update on COVID-19 - 27 April 2021" (PDF). World Health Organization. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
- ^ Le Page, Michael (4 June 2021). "Indian covid-19 variant (B.1.617)". New Scientist. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and variants under investigation in England - Technical briefing 10 (PDF) (Report). London. Public Health England. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
A variant first detected in India was designated under investigation on 1 April 2021 as VUI-21APR-01 (B.1.617.1).
This article incorporates text published under the British Open Government Licence v3.0:
- ^ a b c d SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and variants under investigation in England - Technical briefing 9 (PDF) (Report). London. Public Health England. 22 April 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021. This article incorporates text published under the British Open Government Licence v3.0:
- ^ a b "Dedicated 21A/S:154K Nextstrain build". covariants.org. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
- ^ Nuki, Paul; Newey, Sarah (16 April 2021). "Arrival of India's 'double mutation' adds to variant woes, but threat posed remains unclear". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ Starr, Tyler N.; Greaney, Allison J.; Dingens, Adam S.; Bloom, Jesse D. (April 2021). "Complete map of SARS-CoV-2 RBD mutations that escape the monoclonal antibody LY-CoV555 and its cocktail with LY-CoV016". Cell Reports Medicine. 2 (4): 100255. doi:10.1016/j.xcrm.2021.100255. PMC 8020059. PMID 33842902.
- ^ Zhang, Wenjuan; Davis, Brian D.; Chen, Stephanie S.; Sincuir Martinez, Jorge M.; Plummer, Jasmine T.; Vail, Eric (6 April 2021). "Emergence of a Novel SARS-CoV-2 Variant in Southern California". JAMA. 325 (13): 1324–1326. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.1612. PMC 7879386. PMID 33571356.
- ^ a b Haseltine, William. "An Indian SARS-CoV-2 Variant Lands In California. More Danger Ahead?". Forbes. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ Harvey, WT; Carabelli, AM; Jackson, B; Gupta, RK; Thomson, EC; Harrison, EM; et al. "SARS-CoV-2 variants, spike mutations and immune escape". Nat Rev Microbiol. doi:10.1038/s41579-021-00573-0. PMC 8167834. PMID 34075212.
For example, recently detected viruses of lineage B.1.617.1 were anticipated to show altered antigenicity due to the presence of the substitutions L452R and E484Q, which have been described as affecting antibody recognition.
- ^ "SARS-CoV-2 Variant Classifications and Definitions". cdc.org. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ "SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern as of 3 June 2021". European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ Dr. Sanchari Sinha Dutta, Ph.D (15 March 2021). "D614G Mutation in SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein". News Medical. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ Korber, Bette; Fischer, Will M.; Gnanakaran, Sandrasegaram; Yoon, Hyejin; Theiler, James; Abfalterer, Werner; et al. (20 August 2020). "Tracking Changes in SARS-CoV-2 Spike: Evidence that D614G Increases Infectivity of the COVID-19 Virus". Cell. 182 (4): 812–827. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2020.06.043. PMC 7332439.
- ^ "SARS-CoV-2 Variant Classifications and Definitions". cdc.gov. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
These variants share one specific mutation called D614G... ...There is evidence that variants with this mutation spread more quickly than viruses without this mutation.
- ^ "Weekly epidemiological update on COVID-19 - 11 May 2021" (PDF). World Health Organization. 11 May 2021. p. 4. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ "Weekly epidemiological update on COVID-19 - 25 May 2021" (PDF). World Health Organization. 25 May 2021. p. 10. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ "B.1.617 Covid variant, first found in India, now in 53 countries: WHO". Business Standard. India. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
According to it, B.1.617.1 is found in 41 countries...
- ^ "Variants: distribution of cases data". gov.uk. Public Health England. 9 February 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021. This article incorporates text published under the British Open Government Licence v3.0:
- ^ Taylor, Josh (6 June 2021). "Where did Australia's first cases of the Covid Delta variant come from and how infectious is it?". The Guardian. Melbourne. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ Davey, Melissa (2 June 2021). "Experts dispute Victoria claim that Kappa variant is more infectious than previous Covid outbreaks". The Guardian. Victoria. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
- ^ "PANGO lineages Lineage B.1.617.1". cov-lineages.org. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
