Experts Identify New COVID Variation in South Africa – What’s Known So Far

As a team of South African researchers we have identified a new lineage of

Disclosure statement

Prof. Wolfgang Preiser receives funding from South African Medical Research Council and other scientific funders. He serves on the South African Ministerial Advisory Committee for COVID-19 Vaccines (VMAC).

Jinal Bhiman receives funding from the South African National Department of Health as part of the emergency COVID-19 response; a cooperative agreement between the National Institute for Communicable Diseases of the National Health Laboratory Service and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the African Society of Laboratory Medicine (ASLM) and Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through a sub-award from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Wellcome; the South African Medical Research Council and the South African Department of Science and Innovation; the UK Department of Health and Social Care, managed by the Fleming Fund and performed under the auspices of the SEQAFRICA project. She is affiliated with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases and the University of the Witwatersrand; and serves as a member of the World Health Organization Technical Advisory Group on Viral Evolution.

Marietjie Venter receives funding from the National Research Foundation of South Africa;The European Union (LEAP-Agri) program; The BMBF (the German Federal ministry for education and Research); and National Health Laboratory Services research foundation for unrelated research. She is currently employed by the University of Pretoria. She has acted as temporary advisor for the WHO. The views expressed here is that of the author and do not reflect those of the funders or employer.

Penny Moore receives funding from the National Research Foundation, the South African Medical Research Council and the US National Institutes of Health.

Tulio de Oliveira does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. It is supported by funding from the South African Medical Research Council and the Department of Science and Innovation.

Cathrine Scheepers does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

This article was first published in The Conversation.