Scientists have discovered a gene common in South Asian people that doubles the risk of death from Covid.
Oxford University researchers found the LZTFL1 gene — present in 60 per cent of South Asians — allows the virus to multiply in the lungs easier.
For comparison, it is only found in 15 per cent of European people and two per cent of black Africans.
Scientists say the genetic quirk may partly explain why South Asian people in the UK have been disproportionately affected by Covid.
But they emphasised the single gene is not the sole reason for the disparity, and highlighted the seriousness of social and economic factors.
Office for National Statistics data show Bangladeshi men were nearly five times as likely to die with the virus than their white counterparts during the second wave of the pandemic in England.
Pakistani men were the second most affected (3.4 times as likely), while Indian men were the fourth worst hit ethnic group (1.95 times as likely).
Scientists have discovered a gene found in 61.2 per cent of people with South Asian ancestry that doubles the risk of death from Covid
Covid deaths in the second wave were up to five times higher in Bangladeshi Brits than white adults in England, ONS data has shown
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show fatalities were worst in Black African Britons last spring
