NAIROBI: Another new variant of the new coronavirus appears to have emerged in Nigeria, the head of Africa’s disease watchdog said on Thursday, warning that more research is needed.
The news comes after Britain and South Africa reported new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that appear to be more contagious, sparking new travel restrictions and market turmoil.
“It’s a different lineage from the UK and South African lineages,” John Nkengasong, director of the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said at an online press conference from Addis Ababa.
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“The one we are seeing in Nigeria, and this is based on very limited data so far, has the 501 mutation,” Nkengasong added, referring to the so-called 501.V2 variant identified in South Africa and announced by public health officials there in December. 18.
The Nigerian CDC and the African Center of Excellence for Infectious Disease Genomics in Nigeria will study more samples, Nkengasong said.
The country’s leading COVID-19 investigator has just publicly released the genomic sequences of the new variant, he added.
Nigeria’s CDC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Nkengasong’s remarks.
Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa with more than 200 million people, has seen fewer coronavirus cases than many others on the continent.
The total cases surpassed 80,000 on Wednesday. Daily registered cases surpassed 1,000 for the first time this month.
The news comes after Britain and South Africa reported new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that appear to be more contagious, sparking new travel restrictions and market turmoil.
“It’s a different lineage from the UK and South African lineages,” John Nkengasong, director of the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said at an online press conference from Addis Ababa.
Read our live coronavirus blog for the latest news and updates
“The one we are seeing in Nigeria, and this is based on very limited data so far, has the 501 mutation,” Nkengasong added, referring to the so-called 501.V2 variant identified in South Africa and announced by public health officials there in December. 18.
The Nigerian CDC and the African Center of Excellence for Infectious Disease Genomics in Nigeria will study more samples, Nkengasong said.
The country’s leading COVID-19 investigator has just publicly released the genomic sequences of the new variant, he added.
Nigeria’s CDC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Nkengasong’s remarks.
Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa with more than 200 million people, has seen fewer coronavirus cases than many others on the continent.
The total cases surpassed 80,000 on Wednesday. Daily registered cases surpassed 1,000 for the first time this month.
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