A new variant of COVID-19 appears in Nigeria

Nairobi, Kenya – Another new variant of the coronavirus appears to have surfaced in Nigeria on Thursday, according to the head of public health in Africa in Nigeria, although more research is needed.

“It’s a different line from Britain and South Africa,” the director of African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, John Nkengasong, told reporters. The Nigerian CDC and the African Center of Excellence for Infectious Disease Genomes in that country – the most populous in Africa – will test more samples.

“Give us some time“said.” It is still too early. “

The warning about the possible new variant is due to two of three genetic sequences, he said, although that and the warning issued in South Africa late last week prompted an emergency meeting of the African CDC this week.

Infections are on the rise in parts of the continent.

The new variant in South Africa now predominates in that country, Nkengasong said, with confirmed infections approaching a million patients there. Although the variant spreads quickly and has a high viral load, it is not yet clear whether it causes more serious disease, he said.

“We don’t think this mutation will have any effect” on the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines on the continent, he said of the South African variant.

The South African health minister said late on Wednesday that the virus is spreading “at an alarming rate,” with more than 14,000 new cases confirmed in the past day, including more than 400 deaths. The country has added more than 950,000 cases and the disease is not going away, Zwelini Mkhize said in a statement.

More than 2.5 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Africa, or 3.3% of cases worldwide. Infections across the continent are up 10.9% in the past four weeks, Nkengasong said, including a 52% increase in Nigeria and 40% in South Africa.