A new corona variant is spreading in South Africa.
The variant is said to be responsible for the "exponential" increase in corona cases in the country.
Johannesburg - According to scientists, a new corona variant called B.1.1.529 has been discovered in South Africa.
B.1.1.529 has so far also been found in Botswana and Hong Kong in travelers from South Africa.
The number of cases is still low, but the virologists in South Africa are concerned.
The corona variant "has a very high number of mutations," said the virologist Tulio de Oliveira at a press conference on Thursday, as reported by the afp news agency.
You give "cause for concern" in the country.
Corona researchers fear that the new Corona variant could trigger another wave of diseases.
The effectiveness of the vaccine against this virus variant is still unclear.
Corona variant B.1.1.529 discovered in South Africa
South Africa's Minister of Health Joe Phaahla described the variant as "seriously worrying" and as the cause of an "exponential" increase in reported cases in South Africa.
Only ten cases in three countries have so far been confirmed by genome sequencing, reports the British
The Guardian.
In Botswana, where the new corona variant was first discovered, three cases have now been sequenced.
Six other cases have been confirmed in South Africa and one in Hong Kong for a traveler from South Africa.
The variant B.1.1.529 has 32 mutations in the spike protein.
Mutations in the spike protein can alter the virus' ability to infect cells and spread.
But immune cells also make it more difficult to attack the pathogen.
At the British virologist Dr.
Tom Peacock from Imperial Collage London is ringing the alarm bells at the unusual number of spike mutations.
"It should be very, very closely monitored because of that terrible spike profile," Peacock tweeted in a series of tweets.
But it could also be a very small variant cluster in South Africa that is not very contagious, he continues.
Corona situation in South Africa
The number of infections reported daily rose to more than 1200 in South Africa on Wednesday. At the beginning of the month there were around 100 new infections.
With around 2.95 million corona cases and more than 89,600 deaths, South Africa is the hardest-hit country in Africa.
The beta variant of the corona virus was discovered in South Africa last year.
Concerning Corona variants - "Variants of concern" (VOC)
Variants of Concern - VOC | Surname | VOC sub-lines |
|---|---|---|
alpha | B.1.1.7 | Mutation E484K or E484Q |
beta | B.1.351 | B.1.351.1, B.1.351.2 and B.1.351.3 |
gamma | P.1 | P.1.1 and P.1.2 |
delta | B.1.617.2 | AY.1, AY.2 and AY.3. |
New corona mutations keep popping up.
In the summer it was the Delta variant AY.3 that caused a stir in Great Britain.
At the beginning of September the World Health Organization (WHO) classified the delta variant Mu (alternatively also My) from Colombia as a "variant of interest".
Corona "Variants of Interest" - "Variants of Interest" (VOI)
Variants of Interest VOIs | line | First documentation |
Lambda | C.37 | Peru, December 2020 |
Mu | B.1.621 | Colombia, January 2021 |
Karl Lauterbach warned of the Mu virus variant via Twitter. It is also dangerous for those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered.
(ml with afp)
