SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant

SARS-CoV-2 Variant

Alpha
General details
WHO Designation	Alpha
Lineage	B1.1.1.7
First detected	Kent, England
Date reported	November 2020; 3 years ago (2020-11)
Status	Variant of concern
Symptoms
None Chills Loss of appetite Headaches Muscle aches
Cases map
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)
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The Alpha variant (B.1.1.7) was^[2][3] 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.^[4]

The variant began to spread quickly by mid-December, around the same time as infections surged. 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.^[5] By January 2021, more than half of all genomic sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 was carried out in the UK.^[6] This gave rise to questions as to how many other important variants were circulating around the world undetected.^[7][8]

On 2 February 2021, Public Health England reported that they had detected "[a] limited number of B.1.1.7 VOC-202012/01 genomes with E484K mutations",^[9] which they dubbed Variant of Concern 202102/02 (VOC-202102/02).^[10] One of the mutations (N501Y) was 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.^[11][12]

The Alpha variant disappeared in late 2021 as a result of competition from even more infectious variants. In March 2022, the World Health Organization changed its designation to "previously circulating variant of concern".