SARS-COV-2 Lineage B.1.1.7: Origin, Spread, Symptoms and Countermeasures

A new strain of SARS-COV-2 virus was reported by United kingdoms on December 14,2020. It was detected in the Southeast part of England in October 2020 from the samples taken the month before during the COVID pandemic. The new strain which quickly began to spread at a rate of about 56% more than the original strain is known as SARS-COV-2 VOC 202012/01 (i.e. the first Variant of Concern from 2020, December) or lineage B.1.1.7. The variant is currently in 137 countries with701235cases reported. The variant B.1.1.7. carries a mutation in the RBD (Receptor binding domain) of the spike protein at position 501, where amino acid Asparagine (N) has been replaced with Tyrosine (Y), known as the N501Y mutation. This amino acid substitution in the spike RBD is the defined cause for the increased rate of infection greater than any other strains of the Novel Coronavirus, as it?s known for increasing the binding affinity between the spike RBD and the human Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE-2).