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BusinessLive reports that scientists are monitoring mutations of a new variant of Covid-19 present in all provinces, although the newly identified lineage only accounts for a small proportion of cases.
A local study flagging the variant — dubbed C.1.2 — was published last week, although it has yet to be peer reviewed. The variant has garnered significant attention because the researchers say its multiple mutations have been associated in other variants with increased transmissibility and disease severity. It accounts for about 0.06% of over 150,000 active cases in SA at present. The C.1.2. variant has been identified in several other countries, including Botswana, Mauritius and the Democratic Republic of Congo. By Monday night, when the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) held a briefing, 109 cases had been identified in SA. The discovery of new variants is of great concern to scientists, with earlier versions having driven new waves of infections. In India, the spread of the Delta variant caused a surge in cases and deaths and Delta is now dominant in much of the world, including SA. C.1.2. is not yet a variant of interest, but has the potential to become one. Mutations of significance are initially classified as variants of interest by the World Health Organization and, if they are then identified as being more severe or transmissible, they are termed variants of concern.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Erin Bates at BusinessLive
- Read too, Now new variant stalking the nation, on page 1 of The Star of 31 August 2021
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page