Scientists wary of coronavirus variant from Tanzania with 34 mutations

Coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc across the world with cases going up everyday. India has emerged as the new hotspot with over 300,000 daily cases being reported everyday over the week. Now, scientists are worried about the coronavirus variant which was first seen in Tanzania.

The mutant has acquired at least 34 mutations, making it the most genetically diverse COVID-19 virus detected so far. The variant was first identified among three people who had flown to Angola from Tanzania in mid-February.

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Even though no more cases have been reported since then, the variant has garnered scientific interest for its array of variants, including ones seen in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Manaus variants.

The “variant of interest” as it is known in scientific language was reported in a research paper awaiting peer review at the Universities of Oxford and Cape Town, the Angola Ministry of Health along with Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, along with research body KRISP.

The spread of COVID-19 has been largely undocumented within Tanzania where public health measures are limited.

Scientists believe that the variant may have spread beyond three travellers identified so far. Within its spike protein, the variant has 14 mutations. The protein is responsible for the virus to gain entry into the human cells.