One expert said: The new finding is “clearly very different” from previous mutations
Scientists in South Africa are working on a recently identified coronavirus variant that is causing serious concern, raising fears the country could face a severe fourth wave can spread internationally.
Tulio de Oliveira, a professor of bioinformatics who runs the genome sequencing organization at two South African universities, said at a news conference on Thursday.
Health Minister Joe Phaahla said at the same media event: “This is a worrying form of mutation. “We were hoping that we could have a longer break between episodes – maybe it would last until the end of December or even January of next year.”
According to Anne von Gottberg, clinical microbiologist and head of respiratory diseases at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, virologists have detected nearly 100 cases linked to the domestic variant. World Health Organization officials met to discuss the virus, which has also been detected in Botswana, according to a separate statement.
Francois Balloux, Director of the UCL Genetics Institute, said in an announcement published by the Center for Science Communication that the new variant may have developed during the chronic infection of an immunocompromised person, possibly in an untreated HIV/AIDS patient. The world’s largest number of HIV infections complicates South Africa’s efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic, as immunocompromised people can harbor the virus for longer, scientists say study said.
Fourth wave
The finding comes as several European countries struggle with a new surge in the number of Covid-19 cases, with hospitals in several German cities starting to feel the strain. Governments are considering a new round of restrictions, mainly against unvaccinated types, to try and limit the spread. South Africa is currently at the lowest level of containment measures, although the new variant has prompted the coronavirus cabinet and council to call a meeting over the weekend.
One key difference is that while European countries have widespread vaccination coverage for the healthy majority and have switched to booster shots, only about 35% of South African adults are fully immunized. . The health department has even asked Johnson and Johnson and Pfizer Inc. suspended new deliveries due to a drop in demand.
The rest of Africa is even worse, with only 6.6% of the continent’s population fully vaccinated, Africa CDC Director John Nkengasong said at a virtual meeting. The challenge of securing supply has given way to a lack of demand, he said, with about 45% of the 403 million doses shipped to the continent still unregulated.
Cases are increasing
South Africa has started to see an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases, especially in the most populous province of Gauteng. There have been 1,275 infections recorded on Wednesday, up from less than 900 the day before, with more than 1,000 detected in the center including Johannesburg and Pretoria.
While the government opted for a very strict ban at the start of the pandemic in March 2020, further restrictive measures are often driven by hospitalization rates. A favored tactic is to ban the sale of alcohol, as it relieves medical centers of the burden of drink-related crashes and fights.
The outbreak of the new variant is in its early stages and studies are underway, but officials “unfortunately will start to see pressures in the healthcare system within days,” De Oliveira said. and the next few weeks.”
