Know all about COVID-19 new variant that is 'worse than Delta' - Full list of mutated strains

South Africa has requested an urgent sitting of a WHO working group on virus evolution on Friday to discuss the new variant. The new ‘most mutated’ COVID-19 strain is being called B.1.1529 currently. It is yet to be designated with a Greek letter like the other variants. The variant is “clearly very different” from other strains and has an unusually large number of mutations, revealed Tulio de Oliveira, a professor of bioinformatics who heads gene-sequencing at two universities in South Africa.

The country - the worst affected in Africa in terms of total reported cases and deaths - had been experiencing a lull in COVID-19 cases after a severe third wave of infections, until last week when new infections started to pick up.

On Thursday, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) reported 2,465 new cases, almost double the previous day's number. Although the NICD did not link the resurgence to the B.1.1.529 variant, leading local scientists suspect it is the cause.

"We have observed that imposing bans on travellers from countries where a new variant is reported has not yielded a meaningful outcome. Rather implementing public health and social measures should be prioritised," it said in a statement.

The newly discovered variant carries an 'extremely high number' of mutations that may drive further waves of disease by evading the body's defences.  Scientists have warned that the variant could be more infectious than Delta and more resistant to current vaccines. "Worth emphasizing this is at super low numbers right now in a region of Africa that is fairly well sampled, however, it very very much should be monitored due to that horrific spike profile," Dr Tom Peacock, a virologist at Imperial College London wrote. Scientists have warned that the variant could be more infectious than Delta and more resistant to current vaccines. 

The B.1.1.529 variant was first spotted in the Southern African country of Botswana. So far, only 10 cases have been confirmed by genomic sequencing. The first case was confirmed in Botswana on November 11 and three days later South Africa confirmed a case of the same variant.

The new variant has been red-flagged by scientists over an alarmingly high number of spike mutations that might make the virus more resistant to vaccines, increase its transmissibility and lead to more severe COVID-19 symptoms.

The World Health Organisation said on Thursday that it was closely monitoring the new variant, and will hold a 'special meeting' to discuss if this heavily mutated strain will become a variant of interest or a variant of concern.

Britain said on Friday that a newly identified coronavirus variant spreading in South Africa was considered by scientists to be the most significant one yet found and so it needed to ascertain whether or not it made vaccines ineffective.

"SA is investigating a new variant. More data is needed but we're taking precautions now. From Friday noon, six African countries will be added to the red list, flights will be temporarily banned, and UK travellers must quarantine," UK Secretary of State Health and Social Care, Sajid Javid, tweeted on Thursday.

COVID-19 variants found across the world:

Delta and Delta Plus:

The Delta variant or B.1.617.2 strain of SARS-CoV-2, which was the main reason behind the deadly outbreak of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has further mutated to form the 'Delta plus' or 'AY.1' variant. 

Delta Plus (AY.1) is resistant to monoclonal antibodies cocktail.

It is not yet a variant of concern (VoC) in India, due to low incidence.

One of the emerging variants is B.1.617.2.1 or AY.1 is characterized by the acquisition of K417N mutation.

The mutation is in the spike protein of SARS-COV-2, which helps the virus enter and infect the human cells.

Alpha variant:

The Alpha (B.1.1.7) variant was found in late 2020, experts noted gene mutations were first found in Covid-19 cases seen in people in southeastern England. Scientists believe that these mutations could make the virus up to 70% more transmissible, meaning it could spread more easily.

Beta Variant:

The Beta variant (B.1.351) and other variants of the virus have been found in countries like South Africa and Nigeria and UK and it appears to spread more easily than the original virus but doesn’t seem to cause worse illness.

Gamma Variant:

The Gamma Variant (P.1) was first identified in Brazil in January 2021 but has spread to more than 10 other countries, including the UK.