A leading public health official has stated that another new variant of coronavirus has emerged in Nigeria.
The Head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC), Dr. John Nkengasong revealed the existence of the new P681H strain yesterday, saying it is different from the ones found recently in the UK and South Africa.
The mutant strain of the coronavirus emerged as the country reports a surge in the cases of coronavirus. Coronavirus variants emerge routinely as the virus spreads. About 4,000 variants of the deadly virus has been recorded to date, but those in the UK and South Africa have been widely reported because scientists believe they are significantly more infectious than previous strains.
The Nigerian variants potential effect on vaccines is so-far unclear. The variant was found in two patient samples collected on August 3 and October 9 in Osun State, according to a preliminary report into the virus.
Dr. Nkengasong said the Nigeria CDC and the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases will analyse more samples.
