A new Corona variant (B.1.1.529) is spreading in South Africa.
Leading experts are sounding the alarm.
But what do we know about the mutation so far?
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, the British
The Guardian reported
on Wednesday
.
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.
As the South African national institute for communicable diseases NICD announced on Thursday, 22 cases of infection with the new corona variant B.1.1.529 have so far been detected in South Africa.
In the province of Gauteng with the economic metropolis of Johannesburg, a rapid increase in the number of new infections overall and the positive rate can be observed, the NICD explained.
Vaccination protection against Corona variant B.1.1.529 from South Africa - what experts have been saying so far
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.
Experts fear that the vaccines currently available are less effective in protecting against the coronavirus variant.
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 monitored very, very closely because of that awful 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.
There have already been Corona variants that looked scary on paper - but then did not lead to anything.
For example, the beta version at the beginning of the year - it was able to escape the immune system.
But in the end it was the Delta variant that conquered the world.
But there is increasing evidence that the new variant is spreading faster.
Professor Ravi Gupta of the University of Cambridge said on the BBC: “Beta was all immune defense and nothing else.
Delta had infectiousness and a modest immune defense, possibly having both to a large extent. "
SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach warned of the Corona variant on Friday night.
Lauterbach shared a graphic by data journalist John Burn-Murdoch.
It shows a comparison of the Delta and Beta variants with the new B.1.1.529.
These are only "very" preliminary data, emphasizes Burn-Murdoch.
Should these be confirmed, they would be extremely alarming.
Hopefully what this graph shows will not be confirmed.
If so, travel restrictions must be imposed immediately.
We have to buy time.
Nothing is worse than a new variant in a running wave.
https://t.co/NpVmazAzTn
- Karl Lauterbach (@Karl_Lauterbach) November 25, 2021
How dangerous is the new Corona variant B.1.1.529?
The World Health Organization (WHO) is examining whether the new Corona variant is dangerous - must be classified as a "variant of concern".
This Friday (November 26th) the WHO wants to inform about the first measures and results.
According to the WHO, it will only be known in a few weeks whether B.1.1.529 is actually more contagious or more aggressive than previous variants.
"It will take a few weeks before we understand what impact this variant has," said WHO expert Maria van Kerkhove in a briefing on Thursday.
Variants of Concern (VOC)
According to the definition of the WHO, "worrying variants" are more easily transferable or lead to more severe courses of the respiratory disease Covid-19.
They can also reduce the effectiveness of vaccines, drugs, virus tests or corona measures.
One of the "Variants of Concern" is the delta variant of the coronavirus that is currently predominant in Germany.
South Africa's vaccination rate and the current corona situation in the country
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.
The vaccination campaign in South Africa got off to a slow start.
41 percent of people have received a primary vaccination, 35 percent are fully vaccinated.
In Africa, however, only 6.6 percent of the population are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
John Nkengasong from the health organization of the African Union (Africa CDC) justified the low vaccination rate on Thursday with logistical problems and called for more tests to be carried out in the individual countries.
Worrying Corona variants - "Variants of concern" (VOC) according to WHO
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 appearing.
In the summer it was the Delta variant AY.3 that caused a stir in Great Britain.
The delta variant Mu (alternatively also My) from Colombia classified the World Health Organization (WHO) at the beginning of September as a "variant of interest".
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.
Symptoms of the new corona mutation
In Germany, the delta variant currently dominates.
The shape has completely displaced the alpha variant.
The original wild type of the Sars-CoV-2 virus has almost completely disappeared from the scene.
The symptoms of a corona mutation hardly differ.
Some mutations, such as the delta variant, have been shown to be more contagious.
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the course of an infection and the symptoms are very variable.
There are courses without symptoms up to severe pneumonia with lung failure.
According to the RKI, the most common symptoms of Covid-19 are:
Cough - 42 percent
Fever over 38 degrees - 26 percent
Runny nose - 31 percent
Disturbance of the sense of smell and / or taste - 19 percent
Inflammation of the lungs (pneumonia) - 1.0 percent
According to the RKI, further symptoms of a corona infection are: sore throat, shortness of breath, headache and body aches, loss of appetite, weight loss, nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, conjunctivitis (conjunctivitis), skin rash, lymph node swelling, apathy, abnormal sleepiness (somnolence).
Important: If you have the feeling that it is difficult to breathe than usual, you should contact your doctor.
(ml)
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 |
