The C.1.2 strain, which was discovered in South Africa in May this year, could spread faster than the existing virus as it is capable of making 41.8 mutations per year, which is approximately 1.7-fold faster than the current global rate, experts have warned. The strain has spread to other countries, but India has not yet reported a single case caused by this strain.
What is this variant?
The C.1.2 variant -- which was first detected in South Africa in May this year -- has evolved from C.1, which is one of the lineages that dominated the first wave of SARS-CoV-2 infections in South Africa.
Which countries have detected it so far?
Scientists from the 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 (VoI), C.1.2, was first detected in the country in May this year in the Mpumalanga and Gauteng provinces. It has now spread across the majority of the provinces in South Africa. The C.1.2 has also been found in China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mauritius, England, New Zealand, Portugal and Switzerland.
The research is yet to be peer reviewed and currently remains posted on pre-print server medRxiv.
How deadly is this new strain?
The C.1.2 is quite deadly compared to the earlier versions. It is associated with increased transmissibility and reduced neutralisation sensitivity. One researcher said the new variant has "mutated substantially” and it is way ahead of the original virus initially detected in Wuhan. It is believed this virus is even way ahead of any other variant of concern (VoC) or VoI detected so far worldwide.
How fast is this mutating?
The C.1.2 can have 41.8 mutations every year, as per a study. That is approximately 1.7-fold faster than the current global rate and 1.8-fold faster than the initial estimate of SARS-CoV-2 evolution. Scientists say that other viruses such as Alpha, Beta, and Gamma VoCs underwent a similarly short period of evolution.
What are the symptoms?
Experts are yet to ascertain what could be the new symptoms but the common symptoms across all COVID-19 variants are runny nose, persistent cough, throat pain, body ache, loss of smell and taste, fever, muscle cramps, pink eyes, diarrhoea, etc.
Has it spread to India?
India has not detected the C.1.2 variant till date. It has detected a new sub-lineage AY.12 of the Delta variant though that was recently classified in Israel. As per a recent report by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), many cases that were classified as Delta are now being reclassified as AY.12.
(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)
First Published: Aug 30, 2021 7:21 PM IST
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