Prognosis
South Africa Virus Strain More Transmissible, Not More Severe
- Mutation accelerating second wave, ministerial adviser says
- Hospitalizations, deaths may be proportionally lower
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The new coronavirus strain identified in South Africa appears to be more transmissible than earlier variants and has accelerated the onset of a second wave of infections, according to a member of a panel of scientists advising the country’s health minister.
Yet there’s no evidence that it causes a more severe or different form of the disease, and hospitalization and mortality rates as a proportion of the number of infections are lower than during the first wave in July and August, said Ian Sanne, an infectious diseases doctor and head of Right to Care, a non-profit that provides treatment to people with HIV and associated diseases.