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JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – A severe variant of the coronavirus has been detected in South Africa that could explain the rapid spread of a second wave affecting the very young, the Health Minister said on Friday (December 18).
Known as the 501.V2 variant, it was identified by South African researchers and details have been sent to the World Health Organization, Zwelini Mkhize said in a statement.
A team led by the Kwazulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP) has sequenced hundreds of virus samples since the pandemic began and “noted that one particular variant has increasingly dominated the findings from samples collected in the last two months, “he added.
South African doctors have pointed out that more patients are younger and do not always have other conditions that amplify the effect of the virus, but they do suffer from more severe forms of Covid-19 nonetheless.
That “strongly suggests that the current second wave that we are experiencing is being driven by this new variant,” Mkhize concluded.
The research team, led by Tulio de Oliveira, has shared its findings with the scientific community and has alerted the British authorities, who have “studied their own samples and discovered that a similar mutation … was the variant that It was fueling their revival in London, “he said.
Variants of the coronavirus have been regularly identified and brought to the attention of world health officials.
The South African health minister reiterated that the most effective way to fight back is to practice social distancing, wear masks and wash hands regularly.
South Africa has been more affected by the coronavirus than other countries on the continent, and as of Friday had registered 24,845 deaths and more than 900,000 cases in a population of almost 60 million people.
More than 8,700 cases were detected there in the previous 24 hours, still well below the peak of around 12,000 per day seen in July.
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