South Africa, the African country most affected by coronavirus, is plunged into a second wave marked by a new, more transmissible variant found there, the so-called 501.V2, and on Wednesday broke its record of daily deaths and new cases. , with 844 deaths and 21,832 new infections.
Although South Africa has kept infections under control since August, the number of new daily infections has risen rapidly in recent months, especially in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng provinces, reaching over 1 million positive points out of 27 last December.
Here is what is known about the new version:
IS THE NEW VARIANT THE MOST DANGEROUS?
“At this time, there is no evidence that the new variant is associated with greater severity or poorer results,” the South African government said in a statement from 19.
What some research points out is that it has a higher viral load that makes it more transmissible, so it would be easier to contract the virus if you are exposed to it.
“We are very convinced that it is probably a more transmissible variant, with similar or the same symptoms and we do not think it causes a more severe disease,” said Professor Tulio de Oliveira, director of the scientific platform of the University of KwaZulu-Natal that coordinates genetic analysis of the virus. nationally.
However, “having many more people infected could increase the pressure on our borderline health care system, which could result in the death of several people. The problem is the number of people,” Oliveira warned.
WILL THE VACCINE EFFECT IT?
According to information available to scientists so far, there is no indication that this new variant is resistant to vaccines developed to combat SARS-CoV-2.
“We have no indication that there is an impact on the vaccines being administered. This is the information we have so far and investigations are still ongoing,” the World Organization’s technical manager against covid-19 said on Wednesday. Health (WHO), Maria Van Kerkhove in the weekly meeting of experts from that United Nations agency with internet users.
WHO Director of Health Emergencies Mike Ryan said that new variations in the UK and South Africa “do not mean that the coronavirus behaves differently” and explained that it is common for a virus to do so when a virus moves. a more contagious variant level, not more deadly.
However, Oxford University immunologist John Bell, who co-founded the vaccine developed by the institution and AstraZeneca, told a British press that there was “a big question mark” about the effectiveness of these preparations. before the new South African variant.
HOW WAS THIS VARIANCE DISCOVERED?
The new variant came to light after a sharp increase in cases in the Eastern Cape province attracted the attention of the national network of laboratories studying the genetics of the virus.
After taking about 200 samples from coronavirus patients in more than 50 health centers in the province, South African scientists found a “very unusual” result, in Oliveira’s words.
Instead of finding between ten and twenty different variants in small percentages – common until then – they found a single dominant variant in 90% of infections.
However, it is important to note that it is a variant and not a strain, warned in the local press Professor Ian Sanne, a member of the committee addressing covid-19 in South Africa, otherwise “the concern would be much greater” already which would be equivalent to “starting from scratch”.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE FROM OTHERS?
501. V2 differs from other previously localized variants in that several of its mutations are localized in so-called spike proteins, the part of the virus that binds to cell receptors when it enters a human body.
These proteins are also the main target of antibodies that are created by vaccines.
This is the second known variant that has spread widely in the world with mutations in this area, after the one discovered in the United Kingdom and which, according to Oliveira, has “another origin”.
Already before this new variant, South Africa was the nation most affected by coronavirus on the African continent and, as of January 6, adds almost 1,150,000 cases and 31,368 deaths, although if we consider the last excess mortality figure could be much higher.
Across Africa, there have been more than 2.9 million infections, about 70,000 deaths and about 2.3 million cures, according to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Africa (CDC Africa).