Elsevier

Journal of Infection

Volume 83, Issue 4, October 2021, Pages e21-e23
Journal of Infection

Letter to the Editor
Observations of SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern B.1.1.7 at the UK's largest hospital trust

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2021.04.026Get rights and content

Highlights

  • SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern B.1.1.7, with increased transmissibility, was identified in the UK in October 2020.

  • We report our observations of B.1.1.7 in patients admitted to University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB), one of the largest tertiary referral centres in the UK.

  • B1.1.7 was observed to affect patients of younger age, led to increased admission to critical care with longer stay but the association wasn't statistically significant.

  • Significantly more patients presented with a cough (odds ratio of 2.19; p = 0.0443) Increased coughing could be associated with increased transmissibility and nosocomial infections.

  • Importantly, UHB have seen more outbreaks within the acute setting in January 2021 when the new variant became the dominant strain.

  • Real time whole genome sequencing will be useful to rapidly identify new variants within the hospital setting to facilitate appropriate patient management.

Keywords

COVID-19
New variant
B.1.1.7
Variant of concern

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