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The World Health Organization (WHO) asked its members in Europe to “strengthen their controls” because of the new variant of the coronavirus detected in the United Kingdom, its European branch told Agence France-Presse on Sunday.
Outside the British territory, several cases were detected in Denmark (9), one in the Netherlands and another in Australia, according to the WHO, which recommended that its members “increase their [capacidades de] sequencing ”of the virus, said a spokeswoman for WHO Europe.
Several European countries decided this Sunday to suspend their flights from the United Kingdom, after the detection of a new variant of the coronavirus that, according to the British government, is “out of control”.
The WHO stated that, in addition to “preliminary indications that the variant could be more contagious”, the strain in question “could also affect the effectiveness of some diagnostic methods”, yes, “according to preliminary information.”
Instead “There is no evidence of any change in the severity of the disease”, although that question is also being investigated.
The WHO will offer more information as soon as it has “a clearer vision of the characteristics of this variant”, said a spokeswoman for the WHO in Europe, interviewed by AFP.
“Throughout Europe, where transmission is high and widespread, countries must strengthen their control and prevention procedures,” stressed the WHO.
On a global scale, the WHO recommends “all countries to increase their SARS-CoV-2 virus sequencing capabilities as far as possible and that they share data internationally, especially if the same problematic mutations are identified. “
In addition to the three countries that detected the strain from the United Kingdom in their territory, “other countries informed the WHO of other variants that include some genetic changes of the British variant”, especially a mutation called “N501Y”.
South Africa, which also reported a problematic variant on Friday, believes that the mentioned mutation would be behind the increase in infections. A hypothesis that would be being investigated, according to the WHO.
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