Another new coronavirus variant has appeared.
Researchers are alarmed.
The variant is said to have unusually strong mutations.
Johannesburg - The new sub-form of the corona virus is called "C.1.2" - it is another corona variant.
Researchers in South Africa observe "C.1.2" very closely.
Because this new Corona variant is said to have an unusually high mutation rate - i.e. it shows a strong change in the genetic make-up.
New Corona variant "C.1.2" appeared in several countries
"C.1.2" was first identified in South Africa in May 2021 in the provinces of Mpumalanga and Gauteng, as read in a preprint study by the National Institutes for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP) is.
In August, the corona variant had already been found in all nine South African provinces.
In addition, this variant is spreading in China, Mauritius, New Zealand and Great Britain.
"C.1.2" has already been detected in Europe - in Portugal and Switzerland.
"C.1.2." Is therefore a "substantially changed" version of the virus form "C.1" that has dominated South Africa up to now - which spread there in the first virus wave.
The results of the preprint study were published on the MedRxiv server and have yet to be assessed by independent experts.
The new Corona variant "C.1.2" has 59 mutations compared to the original type.
Some changes can already be found in the "Alpha" and "Delta" variants.
But the scientists have found additional mutations that have not previously been found in any other variant.
Do the corona vaccines work against "C.1.2."?
The NICD scientist Penny Moore emphasized that the spread of “C.1.2” is still “very low”, as reported by the news agency
afp
.
Predictions as to whether the existing corona vaccines were also effective against this variant could therefore not yet be made.
However, she is "confident that the vaccines used in South Africa will continue to protect us against serious illness and death."
Concerning Corona variants - "Variants of concern" (VOC)
Alpha
-
B1.1.7 - formerly known as the "British variant"
Beta
-
B.1.351 - formerly known as the "South African variant"
Gamma
- P.1.
- formerly known as the "Brazilian variant"
Delta
-
B.1.617.2 - formerly known as the "Indian variant"
Lauterbach: "Potentially very dangerous"
The SPD health politician Karl Lauterbach tweeted with a view to "C.1.2" of a "potentially very dangerous" Corona variant.
"But whether it is more dangerous than Delta is still unclear," writes Lauterbach.
And further: "But shows: we have to give Africa a vaccine."
A potentially very dangerous SarsCoV2 variant C.1.2 appears again.
in South Africa.
She has 59 mutations post Wuhan variant.
Spreads quickly.
Whether it is more dangerous than Delta is still unclear.
But shows: we have to give Africa vaccine https://t.co/wjnOQ24qsJ
- Karl Lauterbach (@Karl_Lauterbach) August 30, 2021
New corona mutations
Mutations of the coronavirus appear worldwide.
Viruses mutate constantly - this is also the case with Sars-CoV-2.
Selective changes in the genetic material that affect the transferability or virulence are the focus of the Corona researchers.
Another Delta variant recently attracted attention - "AY.3".
The number of cases is still low.
But the data at hand are worrying.
"AY.3" seems to be even more contagious than the already highly contagious Delta variant.
According to experts, a high vaccination rate reduces the risk of a mutation.
Corona situation in South Africa
South Africa is the country on the African continent hardest hit by the corona pandemic.
More than 2.7 million cases of corona infection have been registered in the country since the beginning of the pandemic.
At least 81,830 people died in connection with Covid-19.
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