New variant (C.1.2) may be more infectious, evade vaccines: Study

As per a study, a new variant of S-CoV-2, the virus which cause Covid-19, has been detected in South Africa and many other countries around the world which could be more transmissible and evade protection provided by vaccines.

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.

The scientists added that 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.

The new variant has more mutations than other variants of concern (VOCs) or variants of interest (VOIs) detected worldwide so far, the researchers said.

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.

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,” Ms Ray from Kolkata’s CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, told PTI.

“Thus, controlling the transmission step itself by strictly cutting down the spread by following appropriately COVID-19 control measures is absolutely important,” Ms Ray, who was not involved in the study, said.