Brazil: new strain of coronavirus identified in Rio de Janeiro, designated P5

Monitoring in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has identified a possible new Sars-Cov-2 lineage, originating from P.1.1.28, in the region of Barra Mansa and Porto Real, on the border with the State of São Paulo, and which has only now been called P5.  More...

Lebanon: possibly new highly transmissible coronavirus variant circulating since January 2021

Lebanese study: “our results represent the first epidemiological study in Lebanon to demonstrate the presence of new “S-mutant variant(s)” within our population, which may be similar to those previously identified in the UK, South Africa and Brazil, or a new one, that is responsible for the surge in COVID-19 cases during the third stage of the study”

“Whether the above variant(s) is one of the internationally identified lineages or is a new variant that has emerged within the Lebanese population remains to be deciphered.  More...