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New COVID19 variant emerges- All you need to know about ‘Variant B.1.1.529’

The World Health Organization (WHO) is convening an emergency meeting today  to discuss the potentially rapidly spreading COVID strain found in South Africa and Botswana.

New Delhi: New COVID variant with more than 30 mutations is spreading in South Africa. It comes as Variant B.1.1.529 is declared a Variant under Investigation (VuI) by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

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All you need to know about the new variant:

# This variant includes a large number of spike protein mutations as well as mutations in other parts of the viral genome.

# These are potentially biologically significant mutations which may change the behaviour of the virus with regards to vaccines, treatments and transmissibility.

# Hong Kong has detected a newly identified COVID-19 variant — B.1.1.529 — which is causing an increase in new Covid-19 infections in South Africa, according to local media reports.

# The Hong Kong health authorities confirmed that the new variant was brought in by one of the men who had flown in from South Africa. The first patient then allegedly passed on the virus to another man who was staying in a neighbouring room at the hotel, The Straits Times reported citing Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK.

# The probe into the two cases showed that they had highly similar genetic sequences, adding that the viruses they carried belong to the B.1.1.529 variant, according to Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection (CHP).

# The first patient was found to have worn a reusable mask with an air valve, and further investigation found that the mask had contributed to the spread of the virus to the second man, RTHK reported.

# Media reports say that scientific information on the public health significance of this lineage is lacking at the moment. Therefore, it is classified by the WHO as ‘variants under monitoring’.

# The World Health Organization (WHO) is convening an emergency meeting today  to discuss the potentially rapidly spreading COVID strain found in South Africa and Botswana.