Scientists from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases of South Africa (NICD) reported this Monday, August 30, 2021, the identification of a new strain of the coronavirus. Called C.1.2, this new variant would have an unusual mutation rate and would be more contagious.
New variant under surveillance in South Africa
In a study published on August 24, scientists from South Africa's National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) reported the identification of a new strain of the coronavirus. As reported last week by the Kwazulu Natal Research, Innovation and Sequencing Platform (Krisp), the so-called variant of C.1.2 was first detected in the country last May. Since then, it has also been observed in China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritius, New Zealand, but also in Europe, such as England, Portugal and Switzerland. Although it is subject to enhanced surveillance, the variant is not, for the time being, classified as a variant "of interest" or "of concern" by the WHO as are the Delta and Beta variants.
A strain with an unusual mutation rate
Although this is a preliminary study not yet confirmed by peers and more work will be needed to understand this new strain, South African scientists still reported that the C.1.2 variant – which descends from the C.1 mutation – would mutate twice as fast as the other variants. Indeed, the study found that the C.1.2 line has a mutation rate of about 41.8 mutations per year. In addition, it is almost twice as fast as the current overall mutation rate of the other variants. According to epidemiologist Eric Feigl-Ding, this new strain is the one that has mutated the most compared to the initial Wuhan strain.
A variant that could be more contagious and more resistant to vaccines
In addition, this new strain could be more contagious and more resistant to vaccines. Indeed, the scientists pointed out that the peculiarities of the virus could help it evade antibodies and immune responses, including in patients who have already been infected with the Alpha or Beta variants. However, specialists remind us that we must not draw a hasty conclusion. And for good reason, South Africa has only 9.3% of its population with a complete vaccination schedule. In a country that is still poorly vaccinated, it is therefore difficult to measure the resistance of the variant to the vaccine, as explained by Penny Moore, a researcher at the NICD: "At this stage, we do not have experimental data to confirm how it reacts, in terms of sensitivity to antibodies."
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