sars-cov-2 beta variant sars-cov-2 beta variant the beta variant, (b.1.351), was a variant of sars-cov-2, the virus that causes covid-19. one of several sars-cov-2 variants initially believed to be of particular importance, it was first detected in the nelson mandela bay metropolitan area of the eastern cape province of south africa in october 2020, which was reported by the country's health department on 18 december 2020. phylogeographic analysis suggests this variant emerged in the nelson mandela bay area in july or august 2020. this article is about the beta variant of the sars-cov-2 virus that causes covid-19. it is not to be confused with the genus of betacoronavirus. sars-cov-2 variantbetascientifically accurate atomic model of the external structure of sars-cov-2. each "ball" is an atom.general detailswho designationbetalineageb.1.351first detectednelson mandela bay, south africadate reportedjuly 2020 (2020-07) or august 2020 (2020-08)statusvariant of concerncases mapcountries with confirmed cases of beta variant as of 2 july 2021 legend: 1,000+ confirmed sequences 250–999 confirmed sequences 100–249 confirmed sequences 10–99 confirmed sequences 2–9 confirmed sequences 1 confirmed sequence none or no data available major variants alpha (b.1.1.7) beta (b.1.351) gamma (p.1) delta (b.1.617.2) omicron (b.1.1.529) ba.1 (b.1.1.529.1)ba.2 (b.1.1.529.2)ba.3 (b.1.1.529.3)ba.4 (b.1.1.529.4)ba.5 (b.1.1.529.5) part of a series on thecovid-19 pandemicscientifically accurate atomic model of the external structure of sars-cov-2. each "ball" is an atom. covid-19 (disease) sars-cov-2 (virus) cases deaths timeline 2019 2020 january responses february responses march responses april responses may responses june responses july responses august responses september responses october responses november responses december responses 2021 january responses february responses march responses april responses may responses june responses july responses august responses september responses october responses november responses december responses 2022 january responses february responses march responses april responses may responses june responses july responses august responses september responses october responses november december 2023 january february march april may locations by country and territory africa antarctica asia europe north america oceania south america by conveyance cruise ships naval ships international response endemic phase evacuations face masks international aid investigations into origin lockdowns by country misinformation by governments fake treatments social distancing software travel united nations world health organization wto ip waiver undercounting of deaths covid-19 apps zero-covid national responses africa china european union germany ghana india ireland netherlands new zealand nigeria philippines russia sweden uk government us federal government vietnam medical response disease testing breathalyzer development drug development drug repurposing public health mitigation vaccines history research vitt deployment authorizations operation warp speed misinformation and hesitancy us vaccine card vaccine passports current vaccines coronavac covaxin convidecia janssen medigen moderna novavax oxford–astrazeneca pfizer–biontech sinopharm bibp sputnik v variants variants of concern alpha beta gamma delta omicron other variants epsilon zeta eta theta iota kappa lambda mu cluster 5 lineage b.1.617 economic impact and recession arts and culture aviation cannabis cinema films disney fashion financial markets food industry food security journalism music performing arts retail shipping television us sportscasting programs tourism video games by country canada india ireland malaysia new zealand russia uk us by sport association football baseball basketball combat sports cricket disc golf gaelic games gridiron football ice hockey motorsport rugby league impacts animals black people crime death rates by country disability domestic violence emergency evacuations education female environment hospitals language lgbt community long-term care media coverage mental health symptoms migration military notable deaths other health issues politics diplomacy popular culture protests pregnancy prisons religion catholic church hajj science and technology social media strikes suicides telehealth xenophobia and racism society ireland malaysia new zealand russia uk us covid-19 portal the world health organization labelled the variant as beta variant, not to replace the scientific name but as a name for the public to commonly refer to. the who considers it to be a variant of concern no longer in circulation. names the variant is also known as the south african variant. mutations amino acid mutations of sars-cov-2 beta variant plotted on a genome map of sars-cov-2 with a focus on spike. mutational profile of beta variant(change of amino acid only) gene nucleotide amino acid orf1ab c1059tt265i g5230tk1655n c8660th2799y c8964ts2900l a10323gk3353r g13843td4527y c14408t1p4715l c17999tt5912i spike c21614tl18f a21801cd80a a22206gd215g g22299tr246i g22813tk417n g23012ae484k a23063tn501y a23403g1d614g g23664ta701v orf3a g25563tq57h c25904ts171l e c26456tp71l n c28887tt205i footnote: 1presented in parent lineage b.1. source: tegally et al. (2020), supplementary fig s8 there are three mutations of particular interest in the spike region of the lineage b.1.351 genome: k417n e484k n501y and a further five spike mutations which have so far generated less concern: l18f d80a d215g r246i a701v away from the spike region, it also carries: k1655n, sgf 3675-3677 deletion, p71l, and t205i. scientists noted that the variant is able to attach more easily to human cells because of three mutations in the receptor-binding domain (rbd) in the spike glycoprotein of the virus: n501y (a change from asparagine (n) to tyrosine (y) in amino-acid position 501), k417n, and e484k. two of these mutations, e484k and n501y, are within the receptor-binding motif (rbm) of the receptor-binding domain (rbd). the n501y mutation has also been detected in the united kingdom. two mutations found in the beta variant, e484k and k417n, are not found in alpha variant. also, beta does not have the 69-70del mutation found in the other variant. vaccine efficacy