By ANDREW MELDRUM and MOGOMOTSI MAGOME
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A new variant of the coronavirus has been detected in South Africa, which scientists say is worrying because of its high number of mutations and its rapid spread among young people in Gauteng, the country's most populous province, Health Minister Joe Phaahla announced Thursday.
The coronavirus evolves as it spreads, and many of the new variants, including those with worrying mutations, usually disappear on their own.
Scientists are monitoring for potential changes that could be more transmissible or deadly, but determining whether the new variants will have an impact on public health may take time.
South Africa has seen a significant increase in new infections, Phaahla said at an online press conference.
“In the last four or five days the increase has been rather exponential,” he explained, adding that the new variant appears to be driving the surge in cases.
Scientists in South Africa are working to determine what percentage of the most recent infections have been caused by this novel version of the virus.
The new variant, currently identified as B.1.1.529, has also been found in Botswana and Hong Kong in travelers from South Africa, he stressed.
The World Health Organization (WHO) technical working group will meet on Friday to assess the new variant and decide whether or not to give it a name from the Greek alphabet.
This variant has a “constellation of new mutations,” said Tulio de Oliveira, of the South African Genomic Surveillance Network, who has been monitoring the spread of the delta variant in the country.
“The extremely high number of mutations is worrying because of the expected immunological evasion and transmissibility,” de Oliveira explained.
“This new variant has many, many more mutations,” including more than 30 in the spike protein that affect transmission ability, he said.
From: https://apnews.com/article/a0401ca8163f453d3e1af9021c6c50ac