South Africa Detects New Covid-19 Variant
Genetics researchers who have been watching for new covid-19 variants say they’ve seen a troubling new lineage that carries many of the same hallmarks as other strains, including Alpha, Beta, and Gamma.
The new variant they are watching, called C.1.2, has popped up across South Africa as well as in seven other countries in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific, the researchers report.
They’re not sure whether its collection of mutations will make it more dangerous, but it carries changes that have given other variants increased transmissibility and the ability to evade the immune system’s response to some degree.
Having more mutations does not necessarily equal more danger some mutations can weaken a virus and it’s the combination of changes that affects whether a virus becomes more efficient. One extra mutation could cancel out the effects of another.
But the team which includes virologist Penny Moore of South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases says they are keeping an eye on it.
“We are currently assessing the impact of this variant on antibody neutralization following SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in South Africa,” they wrote in a report posted online as a preprint.
“This variant has been detected throughout the third wave of infections in South Africa from May 2021 onwards and has been detected in seven other countries within Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. The identification of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants is commonly associated with new waves of infection.”