The National Institute of Communicable Diseases in South Africa warned on Monday of "C.1.2 descent", saying it had been detected in all provinces in the country, but at a relatively low rate.
C.1.2 was first discovered in May, the Institute said, but Delta is still the dominant variant that is spreading to South Africa and the world.
Has the World Health Organization listed it as a disturbing option? Not yet. To date, the virus has not met WHO criteria to qualify as a "disturbing variant" or "variant of interest".
Disturbing variants, such as Delta, are those that show increased transmissibility, virulence or change in clinical diseases and a decrease in the effectiveness of public and social health measures.
Variants of interest are those that show that they cause disease transmission in multiple groups and have been detected in multiple locations but have not yet been proven to be more transmissible.
But why was the alarm given for C.1.2? A virologist and lecturer in immunology and infectious disease with the Central Clinical School of the University of Sydney, Dr. Megan Steain, told the Guardian that it is due to specific mutations contained in C.1.2.
"It contains a lot of key mutations that we see in other variants. Whenever we see those specific mutations appearing, we have to look at them. These mutations can affect things like whether it avoids the immune response, or is transmitted faster." . ”
Is it possible for this variant to disappear? Yes. Covid-19 variants appear all the time and many of them disappear.
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