LONDON – South African scientists identified a new version of the coronavirus this week that they say is behind the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in Gauteng, the most populous province of the country. It’s not clear where the new variant actually appeared, but it was first discovered by scientists in South Africa and has also been seen in travelers to Hong Kong and Botswana.
Health Secretary Joe Phaahla said the variant was linked to an “exponential increase” in cases over the past few days, although experts are still trying to determine if the new variant, has name B.1.1.529 actually causes or not.
From more than 200 new confirmed cases per day in recent weeks, South Africa has seen the number of daily new cases soar to 2,465 on Thursday. Trying to explain the sudden increase in cases, scientists studied virus samples from the outbreak and discovered a new variant.
On Friday, the World Health Organization convened a panel of experts to evaluate data from South Africa.
WHY ARE SCIENTISTS COLD ABOUT THIS NEW COMPLEX?
It appears to have a large number of mutations – about 30 – in the mutant protein of the coronavirus, which could affect how easily it spreads to humans.
Sharon Peacock, who has led genome sequencing of COVID-19 in the UK at the University of Cambridge, said the data to date shows that the new variant has mutations “consistent with enhanced transmissibility”. , but says that “the significance of many mutations is unknown.”
Lawrence Young, a virologist at the University of Warwick, described this variant as “the most heavily mutated version of the virus we’ve ever seen”. He said they were concerned that although this variant has only been detected at low levels in parts of South Africa, “it appears to be spreading rapidly.”
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW AND DON’T KNOW ABOUT INVERTER?
We know that the new variant is genetically distinct from previous variants including beta and delta variants, but we don’t know if these genetic changes make it contagious or dangerous. more dangerous or not.
South African scientists have noticed an increase in cases, but we don’t know if the new variant is to blame and it will take weeks to sort out whether the vaccine is still effective. fruit against it or not.
So far, there is no indication that the variant causes more severe disease. South African experts say that, as with other variants, some infected people do not have any symptoms.
While some of the genetic changes in the new variant seem worrisome, it remains unclear whether the virus poses a significant public health threat. Some of the earlier variants, like the beta variant, were initially of interest to scientists but ultimately did not spread.
Francois Balloux, director of the Institute of Genetics at University College London, said it was impossible to make any predictions as to whether the virus would be more deadly or infectious based on genetic makeup alone. its.
HOW HAS THIS NEW VALTERITY Detected?
Coronavirus mutates as it spreads, and many new variants, including those with disturbing genetic changes, often die off. Scientists track COVID-19 sequences for mutations that could make the disease more contagious or deadly, but they can’t determine that simply by looking at the virus. They have to compare disease patterns in outbreaks with genetic sequences, and sorting out whether there is a real link can take a long time.
Peacock said the variant “could have evolved in a person who was infected but was subsequently unable to eliminate the virus, giving the virus an opportunity to genetically evolve”, in a scenario similar to how experts think the alpha variant – first identified in the UK – also came about, by mutating in an immunocompromised person.
ARE THE TOURISM RESTRICTIONS BEEN ADJUSTED BY SOME COUNTRIES?
Probably. As of Friday noon, travelers arriving in the UK from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini and Zimbabwe will have to self-isolate for 10 days. European Union countries also moved quickly on Friday to try to block air travel from southern Africa.
Neil Ferguson, an infectious disease expert at Imperial College London, said that given the recent rapid rise in COVID-19 in South Africa, it was “cautious” to restrict travel from the region. .
Balloux of University College London said if the new variant was more infectious than delta, the new restrictions would have little impact but they could still give Britain some time to increase vaccination rates and roll it out. other possible interventions.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
The World Health Organization convened a group of technical experts to decide whether the new variant warrants designation as a variant of interest or a variant of concern. If so, the variant would likely be named after a letter of the Greek alphabet, in keeping with the current naming system.
The variants of interest – which now include mu and lambda variants – have genetic changes that affect things like transmissibility and severity of the disease and have been identified as causing clusters significantly in many countries.
The variants of interest – including alpha, beta and delta – have shown they can spread more easily, cause more severe disease, or make current tools such as vaccines less effective.
The delta variant is by far the most contagious form of COVID; it accounts for more than 99% of sequences shared with the world’s largest public database.
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