The SA National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has detected a strain of SARS-CoV-2 with more than 30 changes in its spike protein compared with Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5, with at least nine cases recorded in the country since September last year.
No new cases of the sub-variant, known as BA.2.87.1, have been reported in the US or outside South Africa, reports JAMA Network.
The large number of changes in spike proteins raises the possibility that the new strain could escape the immunity people have acquired from vaccines or infection.
Still, the relatively few cases suggest it is not highly transmissible right now, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which said while it was carefully monitoring the new strain, it expected that current vaccines and treatments would continue to be effective.
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Omicron XBB.1.5 variant now dominant in SA but no need to worry, say experts
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