A South African research paper released this month detailed a new variant of the COVID-19 virus, and scientists noted that it has “references to mutation constellations.”
The research work focused on variant C.1.2 of SARS-CoV-2, which was first detected in May this year. It descended from variant C.1 of the virus, one of the variants that surpassed South Africa earlier this year.
“C.1.2 is very mutated beyond C.1 and the rest [variants of concern] i [variants of interest] globally with 44 to 59 mutations away from the original Wu-Hu-1 virus, ”the researchers wrote.
“While the phenotypic characteristics and epidemiology of C.1.2 are being defined, it is important to highlight this lineage given its concern for constellations of mutations,” they said.
This variant was first detected in the provinces of Mpumalanga and Gauteng in South Africa. It has since been found in six of South Africa’s nine provinces, as well as in England, China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mauritius, New Zealand, Portugal and Switzerland.
The researchers noted that variant C.1.2 shares several mutations common to all variants of concern (alpha, beta, delta, and gamma), as well as three variants of interest. According to the scientists, these mutations probably occurred in a single individual who had a prolonged case of COVID-19, which led to accelerated evolution.
“While these mutations are not characteristic of current VOCs / VOIs, they have been associated with the escape of certain class 3 neutralizing antibodies,” they wrote. “The combination of these mutations presents a potentially novel antigenic landscape for antibodies specific for variant C.1.2.”
The variant has not yet been given a name, although if it does, it will probably be a letter of the Greek alphabet as all other variants have received.