Scientists warn that a new variant of Covid may cause more disease by evading the body's immune defences.
There are only 10 cases confirmed bygenomics in three countries, but the variant has caused concern among some researchers because it may help the virus evade immunity.
The B. 1.1.529 variant has 32 different variations of the spikeProtein, which is a part of the virus that most vaccines use to prime the immune system against Covid. It is possible for the spike protein to be altered to make it harder for the immune cells to attack the pathogen.
The variant was first spotted in Africa. In South Africa and Hong Kong, there are seven more confirmed, and one in a traveller returning from South Africa.
Dr Tom Peacock, a researcher at Imperial College London, posted details of the new variant on a genome-sharing website, noting that the "incredibly high amount of spike mutations suggest this could be of real concern".
Peacock said it should be monitored due to the spike profile, but added that it may be an odd cluster that is not very transmissible. He hoped that was the case.
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The UK Health Security Agency is constantly monitoring the status of the sars-coV-2 variant as they emerge and develop worldwide, according to Dr Meera Chand, the Covid-19 incident director.
It is not unusual for small numbers of cases to arise featuring new sets of mutations, as it is in the nature of viruses to change frequently and at random. She said that any variant showing evidence of spread is quickly assessed.
The earliest cases of the variant were recorded in South Africa three days later. The case was found in Hong Kong and the man stayed in South Africa after he had a negative test. He tested positive for HIV on 13 November after returning to Hong Kong.
There was a red list to impose restrictions on travellers arriving from abroad. Before flying, people who are not fully vaccine-free need to test negative and have two tests on arrival. The Covid test needs to be had within two days of landing.
Scientists will be watching for any sign that the new variant is gaining steam. There has been a recent rise in the number of cases in South Africa, particularly in the city of Gauteng, which has a population of over one million.
The professor of clinical microbiology at Cambridge University said that his lab found that two of the changes on B. 1.1.529 increased the number of infections. He said that it looks a significant concern based on the present situation. The Delta variant of the virus appears to have been driven by its infectiousness. Immune escape is only part of the picture.
Prof Francois Balloux, the director of the University College London Genetics Institute, said that the variant may have evolved in a person with a weakened immune system, possibly an HIV/Aids patient.
He said that he would expect it to be poorly recognised by neutralising antibodies, but added that it was difficult to predict how transmissible it would be. There is no reason to be overly concerned unless it starts going up in Frequency in the near future.
