Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The Financial Times, citing a scientist at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge, Jeffrey Barrett and director of the Institute of Genetics at the University of London, Francois Ballou, reports that AY.4.2 is more contagious than previous variants of infection.

Scientists believe that AY.4.2, originated in Britain, is 10-15% more infectious than the "delta" strain, which remains the most common in the world.

Virologists have recently discovered AY.4.2 while tracking the evolution of the "delta" strain. However, already every tenth case of coronavirus infection in the UK is attributed to a new strain.

“Britain is the only country where AY.4.2 has achieved such success. And yet, I do not exclude that its growth is accidental,” Ballou emphasized.