New coronavirus variant C.1.2 may be more infectious, evade vaccine protection: Study

A new variant of SARSCoV2 the virus which cause Covid19 has been detected in South Africa and many other countries globally which could be more transmissible and evade protection provided by vaccines according to studyScientists from National Institute for Communicable Diseases NICD and the KwaZuluNatal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform KRISP in South Africa said the potential variant of interest C12 was first detected in the country in May this yearC12 has since been found in China the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mauritius England New Zealand Portugal and Switzerland as of August 13 they saidAccording to the yettobe peerreviewed study posted on the preprint repository MedRxiv on August 24 C12 has mutated substantially compared to C1 one of the lineages which dominated the SARSCoV2 infections in the first wave in South AfricaThe new variant has more mutations than other variants of concern VOCs or variants of interest VOIs detected worldwide so far the researchers saidAlso Read Covid19 More mask vaccine mandates as US hospitalisations increaseThey noted that the number of available sequences of C12 may be an underrepresentation of the spread and frequency of the variant in South Africa and around the worldThe study found consistent increases in the number of C12 genomes in South Africa each month rising from 02 per cent of genomes sequenced in May to 16 per cent in June and then to 2 per cent in JulyThis is similar to the increases seen with the Beta and Delta variants in the country during early detection the authors of the study saidAccording to the study C12 lineage has a mutation rate of about 418 mutations per year which is about twice as fast as the current global mutation rate of the other variantsVirologist Upasana Ray noted that the variant is a result of numerous mutations accumulated in C12 line in the spike protein which makes it a lot different than the original virus that was identified in Wuhan China in 2019It 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 Ray from Kolkatas CSIRIndian Institute of Chemical Biology told PTIThus controlling the transmission step itself by strictly cutting down the spread by following appropriately Covid19 control measures is absolutely important Ray who was not involved in the study saidOver half of the C12 sequences have 14 mutations but additional variations have been noticed in some of the sequencesThough these mutations occur in the majority of C12 viruses there is additional variation within the spike region of this lineage suggesting ongoing intralineage evolution the authors of the study notedAbout 52 per cent of the mutations in the spike region of the C12 sequences have previously been seen in other VOCs and VOIsThe spike protein is used by the SARSCoV2 virus to infect and enter human cells and most vaccines target this regionThe mutations N440K and Y449H which have been associated with immune escape from certain antibodies have also been noticed in C12 sequencesWhile these mutations are not characteristic of current VOCsVOIs they have been associated with escape from certain class 3 neutralising antibodies the authors wroteThey noted that these mutations together with changes in other parts of the virus likely help the virus evade antibodies and immune response including in patients who have already developed antibodies for the Alpha or Beta variantsWhile the phenotypic characteristics and epidemiology of C12 are being defined it is important to highlight this lineage given its concerning constellations of mutations the authors addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever