New Delhi: A new variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19, has been detected in South Africa and many other countries globally which could be more transmissible and evade protection provided by vaccines, according to study.
Scientists from National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP) in South Africa said the potential variant of interest, C.1.2, was first detected in the country in May this year.
C.1.2 has since been found in China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mauritius, England, New Zealand, Portugal and Switzerland as of August 13, they said.
According to the yet-to-be peer-reviewed study posted on the preprint repository MedRxiv on August 24, C.1.2 has mutated substantially compared to C.1, one of the lineages which dominated the SARS-CoV-2 infections in the first wave in South Africa.
The new variant has more mutations than other variants of concern (VOCs) or variants of interest (VOIs) detected worldwide so far, the researchers said.
They noted that the number of available sequences of C.1.2 may be an underrepresentation of the spread and frequency of the variant in South Africa and around the world. The study found consistent increases in the number of C.1.2 genomes in South Africa each month, rising from 0.2 per cent of genomes sequenced in May to 1.6 per cent in June and then to 2 per cent in July. “This is similar to the increases seen with the Beta and Delta variants in the country during early detection,” the authors of the study said.
According to the study, C.1.2 lineage has a mutation rate of about 41.8 mutations per year, which is about twice as fast as the current global mutation rate of the other variants.
Virologist Upasana Ray noted that the variant is a result of numerous mutations accumulated in C.1.2 line in the spike protein which makes it a lot different than the original virus that was identified in Wuhan, China in 2019.
“It could be more transmissible and has potential to spread fast. Since there are so many mutations in the spike protein, it could result in immune escape and thus a challenge for the vaccination drive worldwide if allowed to spread,” Ray from Kolkata’s CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, said. “Thus, controlling the transmission step itself by strictly cutting down the spread by following appropriately COVID-19 control measures is absolutely important,” Ray, who was not involved in the study, said.
Over half of the C.1.2 sequences have 14 mutations, but additional variations have been noticed in some of the sequences. “Though these mutations occur in the majority of C.1.2 viruses, there is additional variation within the spike region of this lineage, suggesting ongoing intra-lineage evolution,” the authors of the study noted.
First case of Delta Plus detected in Goa; patient fully recovered
Panaji: Goa has reported the first case of Delta Plus variant of coronavirus.
The genome sequencing fresh reports of 16 mutated samples received on Monday from the Pune-based National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS) has confirmed the detection of one sample for Delta Plus also known as B.1.617.2.1 or AY.1.
The samples were sent to NCCS for genome sequencing on July 19, 2021. As per the information provided by the health services directorate, the person whose sample tested positive for Delta Plus variant hails from South Goa. State epidemiologist Dr Utkarsh Betodkar informed that the particular person has recovered from the dreaded disease.
“We contacted this person; he has recovered by being under home isolation along with two other members of the family, who had also contracted COVID-19. None of them was hospitalised and in fact, all three had taken the first dose of anti-COVID vaccine,” Dr Betodkar said.
He informed that one of the family members of the affected person had a travel history of Maharashtra and added that there is a possibility that it (Delta Plus variant) may have come from outside the state.
“There were three more persons who came in contact with this family who had tested positive for COVID-19 in the neighbouring house. Fortunately, they also have recovered. This family too had taken the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine,” he said.
The state epidemiologist informed that of the remaining 16 samples, two are of Delta variant, also known as B.1.617.2 COVID-19 variant, six samples tested positive are of B.1.617.1 variant that has been designated as Kappa, while seven belong to Delta sub lineages (others).
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Delta Plus variant has an additional mutation in comparison to Delta variant; this mutation has been named as the K417N mutation. ‘Plus’ means an additional mutation has happened to the Delta variant. It does not mean that the Delta Plus variant is more severe or highly transmissible than the Delta variant.
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