Vietnam detects new UK-Indian variant of Covid-19

Vietnam has detected a Covid-19 variant that appears to be a combination of the Indian and UK variants and can spread quickly by air_ officials say.

Vietnam's Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long described the latest mutation on Saturday as "very dangerous".

Viruses mutate all the time and most variants are inconsequential_ but some can make a virus more contagious.

Since Covid-19 was first identified in January 2020_ thousands of mutations have been detected.

"Vietnam has uncovered a new Covid-19 variant combining characteristics of the two existing variants first found in India and the UK_" Mr Nguyen told a government meeting_ according to Reuters news agency.

Mr Nguyen said the new hybrid variant was more transmissible than previously known versions_ especially in the air. He said it was discovered after running tests on newly-detected patients_ online newspaper VnExpress reported.

The variant of Covid-19 first identified in India last October - called B.1.617.2 - is more transmissible than the UK/Kent variant - also known as B.1.1.7 - according to experts.

Research suggests that vaccines_ such as the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs_ are highly effective against the Indian variant after two doses_ but protection from one dose appears to be reduced.

There is no evidence that any mutations of the coronavirus cause much more serious illness for the vast majority of people.

As with the original version_ the risk remains highest for people who are elderly or have significant underlying health conditions.

But a virus being more infectious and equally dangerous will in itself lead to more deaths in an unvaccinated population.

Vietnam has seen a spike in Covid-19 cases in recent weeks. The country has registered more than 6_700 coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic. Of those_ more than half have been recorded since late April this year.

It has also recorded 47 Covid-related deaths_ according to Johns Hopkins University data.