- Three new variants of Covid-19 have been discovered in different countries around the world.
- While at least one new variant can be up to 70 percent more transmissible, no one has so far proven to be more lethal.
- South Africa reported a new strain that appears to have mutated longer than the British variant.
Three new variants of Covid-19 have been discovered in recent weeks, which has led to increased vigilance worldwide as officials say a variant found in the UK can be up to 70 percent more transferable.
However, none of the variants so far has been shown to be more lethal or more likely to avoid vaccines or treatments.
A new variant was first reported in the UK on 14 December, with the name VUI-202012/01 (the first variant under investigation in December 2020), and it is assumed to have appeared only in mid-September.
Called by some experts the B117 strain, this has quickly become the dominant strain in the case of Covid-19 in many parts of the UK.
Last week, South Africa reported another new strain that appears to have mutated longer than the British variant.
Known as 501.V2, this variant is dominant among newly confirmed infections in South Africa.
On December 24, the head of the African Disease Control Agency said another Covid-19 strain, known as P681H, had been identified in Nigeria.
It has a separate lineage from the other mutations but does not appear to spread as quickly as the other two new variants.
Below is a list of countries that have so far reported cases of new strains of coronavirus.
Australia
On December 21, Australian health officials said two people traveling from the UK arrived in the country with the new strain.
Denmark
The World Health Organization reported that nine cases of a new variant were discovered in Denmark.
Canada
Health officials in the Canadian province of Ontario on December 26 reported the country’s first two cases of the COVID-19 variant first discovered in the UK.
The falls are a couple in Durham, a region east of Toronto, with no known travel history, exposure or high-risk contacts, the province said. They are in self-isolation.
France
On 25 December, France discovered its first case of a new variant in a French citizen who returned from the British capital on 19 December.
He had no symptoms and was quarantined in his home in the central city of Tours.
Italy
On December 23, Italy registered the second case of a new strain of the new coronavirus near the central city of Ancona, but the patient had no direct contact with the United Kingdom, where the variant first appeared.
Laboratory director Stefano Menzo told the Italian news agency ANSA that it was not the strain first discovered in Britain.
The country had already discovered the new COVID-19 strain on December 20 in a person who had recently arrived from the UK. The patient landed at Rome’s Fiumicino airport and is now in quarantine.
Japanese
On December 25, Japan reported its first five cases of the rapidly spreading variant of passengers arriving from the UK.
Jordan
The country’s health minister said on December 27 that Jordan had detected its first two cases of the new variant of coronavirus, which has spread rapidly in parts of the UK, among travelers who recently arrived from the UK.
Lebanon
In Lebanon, the health of the country’s caretaker said on December 25 that a case of the new variant was discovered on a flight arriving from London.
Middle East Airlines Flight 202 arrived on December 21, Hamad Hassan said, urging all passengers on the flight and their families to take precautions.
Netherlands
On 22 December, Dutch Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said the new variant identified in the UK was found in two cases in the Amsterdam area.
Nigeria
On December 24, the head of the African Disease Control Agency said that a new variant of the new coronavirus had emerged in Nigeria.
The variant was found in two patient samples collected on August 3 and October 9 in the Nigerian state of Osun, according to a work research document from the Associated Press.
Singapore
On December 24, Singapore confirmed its first case of the new coronavirus variant found in the UK.
Among the 31 COVID-19 patients who arrived between November 17 and December 17, one carrying the B117 strain was confirmed, while 11 others were found to be infected provisionally and their confirmatory results are awaited, the Singapore Ministry of Health said.
Spain
Spain reported its first four cases of the new variant on 26 December. All four infections were related to travel to the UK, said Regional Health Assistant Antonio Zapatero.
There are three other suspected cases of the coronavirus variant, but the results of the tests will only be available on Tuesday or Wednesday, says Zapatero.
South Africa
South Africa last week reported a new Covid-19 strain that appears to have mutated longer than the British variant. It has made its way to several countries including the UK.
Known as 501.V2, this variant is dominant among newly confirmed infections in South Africa, and appears to be more contagious than the original virus, according to health officials and researchers leading the country’s virus strategy.
South Korea
South Korean officials reported on December 28 that the new variant was discovered in a family flying to the country from London on December 22, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
The three have been isolated since they tested positive.
Sweden
The new variant of the coronavirus that is circulating in the UK was discovered in Sweden after a traveler from the UK became ill on arrival and tested positive for it, the Swedish Health Service said on 26 December.
The health authority’s official Sara Byfors told a press conference that the traveler, who was not identified, had been kept isolated after arriving in Sweden and that no further positive cases have been discovered so far.
Norway
On December 28, Norway said that the variant circulating in the UK had been discovered in two people who arrived from the UK earlier in December.
UK
On December 14, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that more than 1,000 cases of a new variant of coronavirus have been found, mainly in the south of England.
On December 23, Hancock said the country found two cases of yet another coronavirus variant linked to South Africa.
“Both are contacts with cases that have traveled from South Africa in recent weeks,” Hancock told a media lecture.
India
On December 29, Indian health officials said they had found six people who had returned from the UK in recent weeks who had tested positive for the new coronavirus strain.
All six patients have been kept in isolation, the Indian Ministry of Health said in a statement on Tuesday. “Their close contacts have also been quarantined,” the statement said.
Pakistan
On December 29, Pakistan said it had detected three cases of the new coronavirus strain from travelers returning from the UK.
“The genotyping showed 95 percent matching of the new variant from the UK,” said Meeran Yousuf, a spokesman for Sindh’s health department.
“These samples will go through another phase of genotyping,” she said, adding that contact tracing of these travelers is underway and that their contacts are also being isolated.
Chile
On December 29, Chile said it had registered its first case of the British variant of the coronavirus, prompting health authorities to reintroduce a mandatory quarantine period for all visitors entering the South American nation from abroad.
Chilean health secretary Paula Daza said a Chilean woman who returned to her home country on December 22 had tested positive for the variant. She had traveled to London to visit her family.
Switzerland
On December 29, Switzerland documented five cases of the variant from the United Kingdom and two cases of the South African mutation, said an official from the Ministry of Health, adding that he expects more cases to emerge.
USA On December 30, the US state of Colorado registered what is reportedly the USA’s first case of the infectious coronavirus variant.
“Today we discovered Colorado’s first case of the Covid-19 variant B.1.1.7, the same variant that was discovered in the UK,” tweeted Gov. Jared Polis.
Source: sn.dk