Variant Of COVID C.1.2 Appears In South Africa, More Dangerous Than Delta?
JAKARTA - Not yet finished with the Delta variant from India which has occupied the world, scientists from South Africa recently detected a new Corona variant named C.1.2.
Although there is no certainty about the speed of transmission, this C.1.2 variant was first detected in May 2021. Now the variant is known to have spread to most provinces of South Africa and seven other countries in Africa, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.
So, is C.1.2 more dangerous than the Delta variant?
Scientists believe that variant C.1.2 contains multiple mutations from other variants with increased transmission and decreased sensitivity to neutralizing antibodies. However, scientists do not know for sure the behavior of this variant considering that laboratory tests are still being carried out.
Experts warn that the COVID-19 pandemic is not over yet, which allows this virus to still have the potential to infect humans.
"This pandemic is far from over. That this virus is still looking for ways to potentially get better at infecting us", said the infectious disease specialist in his research on C.1.2, Richard Lessels, quoted by Reuters, August 31.
However, Lessels emphasized, the public does not need to worry at this stage considering that there will indeed be more variants. He said, more virus mutations would appear during the pandemic.
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To note, genome sequencing data from South Africa showed the C.1.2 variant was still significantly less widespread than the dominant Delta variant in July 2021, the last month in which a large number of samples were available.
Until now, the Delta variant is said to be the fastest and strongest variant in the world.
According to Lessels, based on its mutation pattern, C.1.2 may have more immune evasion properties than the Delta variant and has been reported to WHO.
For information, South Africa was the first country to detect the Beta variant, one in four labeled VoC (variant of concern) by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Beta variant is known to spread more easily than the original Corona variant that causes COVID-19.
A number of studies have shown that the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine decreased in this variant compared to other variants. This has led some countries to restrict travel to and from South Africa.