- A new variant of coronavirus has been identified in South Africa that has got scientists worried due to the number and types of mutations it contains and the speed at which the mutations have occurred.
- Currently referred to as the C.1.2 variant, it is viewed as the variant carrying the most mutations since the original “wild” variant emerged in China.
A new variant of coronavirus has been identified in South Africa that has got scientists worried due to the number and types of mutations it contains and the speed at which the mutations have occurred. Currently referred to as the C.1.2 variant, it is viewed as the variant carrying the most mutations since the original “wild” variant emerged in China.
An initial study by South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases reported that the C.1.2 variant was first traced in the Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces in May 2021. It later spread to other South African provinces as well as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mauritius, New Zealand, Portugal and Switzerland. It warns that the several mutations carried on the C.1.2 variant may make it more transmissible and vaccine-resistant. However, it is too early to confirm.
WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris informed a United Nations briefing that the WHO is monitoring the variant. WHO follows certain parameters such as increased transmissibility, virulence or change in clinical disease, and a decreased effectiveness of public health and social measures before declaring a “variant of concern.”
