written by Vylette
South African scientists announced Thursday that they had discovered a new Covid-19 variant with a large number of mutations, blaming it for an increase in infection numbers.
Since the beginning of the month, the number of daily infections in Africa's hardest-hit country has increased tenfold.
According to the scientists, the new variant has at least ten mutations, compared to two for Delta and three for Beta.
"The concern is that having so many mutations can affect how the virus behaves," Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead on Covid-19, said during a virtual press briefing.
"It will take us a few weeks to understand the impact of this variant on any potential vaccines," she added.
Neutralizing the variant is according to Penny Moore, one of the South Africans scientists, "complicated by the number of mutations this variant contains."
"This variant contains many mutations with which we are unfamiliar," she added.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention have stated that they will meet with South African experts soon to discuss the variant.
As a result, Britain has banned all travel from the country and five other southern African nations, as scientists warn that the new variant may be more infectious than Delta and resistant to current vaccines.
"Unfortunately, we have discovered a new variant, which is cause for concern in South Africa," virologist Tulio de Oliveira said at a hastily convened news conference.
The variant, known scientifically as B.1.1.529, "has a very high number of mutations," he said, adding that the World Health Organization may name it a Greek variant — similar to the dominant Delta strain — on Friday.
"Unfortunately, it's causing a resurgence of infections," he explained.
The variant has also been found in Botswana and Hong Kong among South African travelers, according to de Oliveira.
The WHO said it is "closely monitoring" the reported variant and will meet on Friday to decide whether it is of "interest" or "concern."
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