Researchers at the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP), led by Professor Tulio de Oliveira, who has completed a number of important work on the SARS-CoV-2 variant in South Africa over the past few months.
Despite the new findings, however, the members of this team find it difficult to announce their achievements as it reveals a dangerous new phase of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are extremely busy from mid to late November,” said Professor de Oliveira. Doctors at one of the major hospitals in Nelson Mandela Bay have seen an unusually high rise in new cases. By studying the genetic material of the new variant, known as 501YV2 and tracking its path across South Africa, the KRISP team of researchers was able to determine that this new variant increased its infectivity by 20-200% compared with the original virus strain.
In an equally disturbing finding, KRISP’s partners at the African Institute of Health Research (AHRI) concluded that antibodies that respond to the original SARS-CoV-2 virus were “much less effective” in neutralizing the variant in South Africa. This also raises concerns that people who have previously had Covid-19 may still be re-infected.
Professor de Oliveira said his team is looking at “several samples” of the SARS-CoV-2 virus reinfection cases.
The South African SARS-COV-2 variant has now spread in many countries, such as Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia and Malawi.
The study also caused concern for many people across Africa. South Africa, a country with a relatively modern infrastructure, has also struggled to cope with a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2. During the outbreak of the second Covid-19 wave in early January, more than 20,000 cases were recorded in South Africa each day. Hospitals and health centers also face frequent shortages of manpower, hospital beds and essential equipment such as oxygen breathing machines.