World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a press conference on the coronavirus situation (COVID-2019) in Geneva, Switzerland.
Denis Balibouse | Reuters
New, more contagiously mutated variants of the coronavirus are “highly problematic” and could cause more cases and hospitalizations if the spread of the virus is not immediately suppressed, the head of the World Health Organization said Monday.
The global health agency was informed over the weekend of a new Covid-19 strain discovered in Japan, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news conference. On Sunday, Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases said it had discovered a new variant of coronavirus in four travelers arriving from Brazil.
The variant appears to have some of the same mutations as other strains discovered in the United Kingdom and South Africa, the institute said. Those virus mutations, while highly contagious, don’t seem to make people sicker from the virus, health experts say.
Japan’s Infectious Diseases Institute said it is difficult to immediately determine how contagious the new strain is and how effective vaccines are against it.
As viruses spread, they are expected to mutate over time as the peaks on their surface change, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. However, the CDC warns that it is not yet known how widespread the new mutations are.
“The more the virus spreads, the greater the chance of new changes in the virus,” said Tedros at WHO headquarters in Geneva, noting that the new variants appear to be more contagious than previous strains.
“This can lead to a spate of cases and hospitalizations, which is very problematic for health professionals and hospitals that are already near breaking point. This is especially true when public health and social measures have already broken down,” said Tedros.
This is a story in progress. Check back later for updates.