U.K. Detects Six Cases of Brazilian Coronavirus Variant

(Bloomberg) --

Six cases of a Brazilian coronavirus variant have been detected in the U.K., Public Health England said, warning the mutation may be more resistant to vaccines.

Two cases in England are from the same household in Gloucestershire with a history of travel to Brazil, while a third is unlinked, PHE said on Sunday in an emailed statement. Another three have been detected in Scotland, it said.

“The P.1 variant has been designated ‘of concern’ as it shares some important mutations with the variant first identified in South Africa,” PHE said. “It is possible that this variant may respond less well to current vaccines but more work is needed to understand this.”

Health officials are contacting all passengers on the Feb. 10 Swiss Air flight LX318 from Sao Paulo to London Heathrow via Zurich in order to test them and their households, PHE said.

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