Double mutant variant

Double mutant variant is a variant of virus in which 2 mutations have come together. The discovery of double mutant variant of SARS CoV 2 was reported recently. It bears 2 mutations- E484Q mutation which enables the virus to escape anti-body neutralization and L452R mutations which increases its infectivity. The double mutant variant has been labelled as a ‘variant of concern’ (VoC). Investigations are being conducted to determine whether this variant is behind the recent surge in COVID-19 cases.