More mutated than the Delta version. New version C.1.2 identified in South Africa

The new version was first revealed in May 2021 and is derived from the C.1 version (which was the dominant version during the first wave of the South African pandemic), but is quite different.

The share of C.1.2 in the total number of coronavirus infections in South Africa is increasing systematically, with 0.2% being detected in May. samples, in July – in 2 percent. The researchers noted that the proportion of beta and delta variants has increased similarly in the past.

Apart from South Africa, C.1.2 infections have also been found in Great Britain, Portugal, Switzerland, China, New Zealand, Democratic Republic of Congo and Mauritius.

C.1.2 is characterized by a large number of mutations, including those present in variants of concern (VoC) such as alpha, beta and gamma. Scientists speculate that by combining these mutations, C.1.2 may be more contagious and more difficult to control by current vaccines.

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The new variant contains more mutations than all the worrying coronavirus variants described so far. The original SARS-CoV-2 virus known as Wuhan-Hu-1 isolated it from 44 to 59 mutations, South African scientists report.

A summary of an unreviewed study by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases of South Africa (NICD) and the KwaZulu-Natal Research and Innovation Sequencing Platform was published last week on medRxiv.