Sudden rise in COVID-19 case fatality among young and middle-aged adults in the south of Brazil after identification of the novel B.1.1.28.1 (P.1) SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus strain

Individuals between 20 and 29 years of age whose diagnosis was made in February 2021 had an over 3-fold higher risk of death compared to those diagnosed in January 2021, while those aged 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 years experienced 93%, 110%, and 80% increases in risk of death, respectively.  More...

90 cases of Brazil related coronavirus variant PHL-B.1.1.28 in The Philippines

The Philippines now has all three variants of the coronavirus that have been fuelling record-breaking spikes in infections across the globe, and a Philippine variant (PHL-B.1.1.28) that has the same lineage as the infectious Brazilian variant.  More...

Japan identifies a B.1.1.28 coronavirus strain with E484K and N501Y mutations from a traveller from the Philippines

The National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, identified a B.1.1.28 strain with E484K and N501Y mutations from a SARS-CoV-2-positive sample collected on February 25, 2020 at a point of entry to Japan from a traveller from the Philippines(virus name : hCoV-19/Japan/IC-0824/2021, GISAID Accession ID: EPI_ISL_1198832) (1).  More...