Category: Zimbabwe
South African #coronavirus variant B.1.351 (501Y.V2) at around 15% in Saarland, Germany
German Federal Health Jens Spahn Minister of has expressed concern about the spread of the South African corona variant in Saarland . “It is on the way to 15 percent South Africa variant,” said Spahn in Berlin. “That is by far the highest proportion in all of Germany.”
The variant, which was first discovered in South Africa in August 2020, was increasingly displacing the other variants there. Similar to the British one, this variant also spreads much faster because it can bind to human cells more quickly. But it is also suspected of being able to better escape human immune responses.
Image by picardzucht from Pixabay
Lancet: Surveillance of #coronavirus in Zimbabwe shows dominance of variants of concern – B.1.351 (501Y.V2) and A.23.1
In December, 2020, 95 (89%) of 107 sequenced cases contained mutations of concern, rising to 102 (98%) of 104 in January, 2021. The identified variants included the previously reported B.1.351 (501Y.V2) and A.23.1 variants, along with a novel variant under investigation.
Prospective surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 by genome sequencing in Zimbabwe between December, 2020, and January, 2021 (the period of the so-called second wave), has identified that variants with concerning mutations are prevalent in sequenced samples. In December, 2020, 95 (89%) of 107 sequenced cases contained mutations of concern, rising to 102 (98%) of 104 in January, 2021. The identified variants included the previously reported B.1.351 (501Y.V2) and A.23.1 variants, along with a novel variant under investigation.
The B.1.1.7, B.1.525, P.1, and P.2 and variants were not identified in Zimbabwe. Variants with concerning mutations have all replaced previously identified lineages in Zimbabwe
Image by Simon Berger from Pixabay