New Covid-19 'super-variant' discovered containing 32 mutations: Virologist says it's horrible

A new Covid-19 variant called B.1.1.529 has just been discovered in Botswana, which is warned to contain "extremely high numbers of mutations", the Mirror reports.

The B.1.1.529 variant is believed to be the most evolved strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and can evade existing Covid-19 vaccines, scientists say.

Variant B.1.1.529, an offshoot of an older variant B.1.1, has 32 mutations in the viral spike protein. It was first discovered in Botswana and has also been found in South Africa and Hong Kong.

To date, only 10 cases of variant B.1.1.529 have been detected through gene sequencing. However, experts believe that finding the variant in three countries suggests it may be more common.

A health worker administers the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in Francistown, Botswana.

The high number of mutations of variant B.1.1.529 has raised concern in the scientific community, because some mutations can help the virus evade immunity.

Dr Tom Peacock, a virologist at Imperial College London (UK), who shared on Twitter about the discovery, said it was "appalling".

Dr Peacock added that this variant is likely to be "worse than any other", including the currently dominant Delta variant, which has 16 mutations.

"The emergence [of the new variant] in Asia suggests that this variant may be more common than those found by sequencing," he wrote. In addition, an extremely high number of mutations indicates that the variant is variable. this can be really worrisome (predictably able to escape most known monoclonal antibodies)".

To date, three cases of this variant have been detected in Botswana and another six in South Africa. The first cases were detected in Botswana on 11 November.

The only case of this variant in Hong Kong is a 36-year-old man who recently traveled to South Africa. He arrived in South Africa on October 23 and returned on November 11. The case raised concerns that many people could be infected after traveling abroad.

The man tested negative on his return to Hong Kong but tested positive on November 13 while being isolated at a hotel.

In South Africa, the number of Covid-19 cases nationwide increased from 312 on Monday to more than 860 on Tuesday, but scientists believe it is too early to tell if this increase is related. super-variant" new or not.