First positive sample was taken on November 14 at a Lighthouse Lab in Glasgow, MailOnline understands
Laboratories in Cheshire, Milton Keynes and Cambridge have also spotted the variant, which is known as P.2
At least two nurses in Brazil have been infected with P.2 despite catching and beating Covid in the spring
It has raised fears the new variant can slip past vaccines targeted at older strains and undo natural immunity
Most Brazilians are oblivious to the highly contagious new coronavirus strain which has sparked an explosive second wave sweeping through their country and causing alarm around the world.
The Latin American nation passed 200,000 deaths from the pandemic earlier this week, the second highest toll worldwide.
Now in the midst of a second devastating wave, the country registered its highest daily average of Covid infections this week, with 54,784 confirmed cases on average per day - up 51 per cent on two weeks ago.
The emergence of a new mutation of the virus, believed to have originated in the northern jungle state of Amazonas, now threatens to overwhelm the country once more and lead to many more deaths.