NATIONAL NEWS - The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) on Monday 6 September said the new Sars-CoV-2 variant, Mu, detected in North and South America, Europe and Asia, has not yet been detected in Africa.

Currently the variant, declared by the World Health Organisation as a variant of interest (VOI), accounts for less than 1% of the globally circulating viruses, with delta accounting for 88%.

The NICD said many of the mutations in Mu have been seen before in other VOIs and variants of concern (VOCs), including beta and delta, and some of these mutations have previously been associated with decreased antibody responses and increased transmissibility.

However, both vaccines being rolled out in South Africa have high levels of protection against severe disease that leads to hospitalisation and death, and will likely also protect against Mu. 

The NICD added that in addition to vaccination, non-pharmaceutical interventions have proven effective against preventing the spread of Sars-CoV-2, regardless of the variant.

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