sars-cov-2 alpha variant sars-cov-2 alpha variant the alpha variant (b.1.1.7) was a sars-cov-2 variant of concern. it was estimated to be 40–80% more transmissible than the wild-type sars-cov-2 (with most estimates occupying the middle to higher end of this range). scientists more widely took note of this variant in early december 2020, when a phylogenetic tree showing viral sequences from kent, united kingdom looked unusual. the variant began to spread quickly by mid-december, around the same time as infections surged. sars-cov-2 variantalphascientifically accurate atomic model of the external structure of sars-cov-2. each "ball" is an atom.general detailswho designationalphalineageb1.1.1.7first detectedkent, englanddate reportednovember 2020 (2020-11)statusvariant of concernsymptoms none chills loss of appetite headaches muscle aches cases maptotal number of b.1.1.7 sequences by country as of 25 march 2021 legend: 10,000+ confirmed sequences 5,000–9,999 confirmed sequences 1,000–4,999 confirmed sequences 500–999 confirmed sequences 100–499 confirmed sequences 2–99 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 this increase is thought to be at least partly because of one or more mutations in the virus' spike protein. the variant was also notable for having more mutations than normally seen. by january 2021, more than half of all genomic sequencing of sars-cov-2 was carried out in the uk. this had given rise to questions as to how many other important variants were circulating around the world undetected. on 2 february 2021, public health england reported that they had detected " limited number of b.1.1.7 voc-202012/01 genomes with e484k mutations", which they dubbed variant of concern 202102/02 (voc-202102/02). one of the mutations (n501y) is also present in beta variant and gamma variant. on 31 may 2021, the world health organization announced that the variant of concern would be labelled "alpha" for use in public communications. classification names the variant is known by several names. outside the uk it is sometimes referred to as the uk variant or british variant or english variant, despite the existence of other, less common, variants first identified in uk, such as eta variant (lineage b.1.525). within the uk, it is commonly referred to as the kent variant after kent, where the variant was found. in scientific use, the variant had originally been named the first variant under investigation in december 2020 (vui – 202012/01) by public health england (phe), but was reclassified to a variant of concern (variant of concern 202012/01, abbreviated voc-202012/01) by meera chand and her colleagues in a report published by phe on 21 december 2020. in a report written on behalf of covid-19 genomics uk (cog-uk) consortium, andrew rambaut and his co-authors, using the phylogenetic assignment of named global outbreak lineages (pangolin) tool, dubbed it lineage b.1.1.7, while nextstrain dubbed the variant 20i/501y.v1. the name voc-202102/02 refers to the variant with the e484k mutation (see below). genetic profile amino acid mutations of sars-cov-2 alpha variant plotted on a genome map of sars-cov-2 with a focus on spike. defining mutations in voc-202012/01(change of amino acid only) gene nucleotide amino acid orf1ab c3267tt1001i c5388aa1708d t6954ci2230t 11288–11296 deletionsgf 3675–3677 deletion spike 21765–21770 deletionhv 69–70 deletion 21991–21993 deletiony144 deletion a23063tn501y c23271aa570d c23604ap681h c23709tt716i t24506gs982a g24914cd1118h orf8 c27972tq27stop g28048tr52i a28111gy73c n 28280 gat→ctad3l c28977ts235f source: chand et al., table 1 (p. 5) mutations in sars-cov-2 are common: over 4,000 mutations have been detected in its spike protein alone, according to the covid-19 genomics uk (cog-uk) consortium. voc-202012/01 is defined by 23 mutations: 14 non-synonymous mutations, 3 deletions, and 6 synonymous mutations (i.e., there are 17 mutations that change proteins and six that do not). symptoms and signs imperial college london investigated over a million people in england while the alpha variant was dominant and discovered a wide range of further symptoms linked to covid. "chills, loss of appetite, headache and muscle aches" were most common in infected people, as well as classic symptoms. diagnosis several rapid antigen tests for sars-cov-2 are in widespread use globally for covid-19 diagnostics. they are believed to be useful in stopping the chain of transmission of the virus by providing the means to rapidly identify large numbers of cases as part of a mass-testing program. following the emergence of voc-202012/01, there was initially concern that rapid tests might not detect it, but public health england determined that rapid tests evaluated and used in the united kingdom detected the variant. prevention