Formally known as B.1.1.529 this is a newly designated variant of the Sars cov2 virus. Though knowledge on it is still nascent, researchers across the world have been pointing to the variant having an unusually large number of mutations that in theory could be make them more transmissible. B.1.1.529 variant has about 50 mutations overall, including more than 30 on the spike protein alone. The spike protein is the part of the virus that latches on to the surface of the human cell and is the most conspicuous part of the virus. The existing vaccines are designed to target the spike protein and the more mutations there are on them, the greater the odds that the virus has the ability to evade them.
The World Health Organisation is expected to take a call within this week on whether B.1.1.529 is a variant of interest, or variant of concern. Based on this it may likely be designated as 'Nu' following the convention of naming variants for Greek alphabets such as Delta, Gamma and Alpha. This is based on the extent of its spread, its severity and how quicky it can transmit. The South African Health Ministry said in a briefing that the variant so far has been found in Botswana, South Africa and Hongkong, from traveller returning from South Africa. Ten cases have so far been confirmed. In South Africa, the most cases are from Guateng province where in Tshwane, part of Guateng, test positivity in the last three weeks has risen from 1% to 30%. The current analysis suggests that in that region, the new variant maybe taking over the dominant Delta variant as well as another prominent variant called C.1.2.
