[ad_1]
GENEVA: The World Health Organization warned against great alarm over a highly infectious new variant of the coronavirus that has emerged in Britain and said this was a normal part of the evolution of a pandemic.
WHO officials even shed a positive light on the discovery of the new strains that prompted a host of alarmed countries to impose travel restrictions on Britain and South Africa, saying that new tools to track the virus were working.
“We have to find a balance. It is very important to have transparency, it is very important to tell the public what it is like, but it is also important to convey that this is a normal part of the evolution of the virus “, said the head of emergencies of the WHO, Mike Ryan, in a briefing in line.
“Being able to track a virus so closely, so carefully, this scientifically in real time is a really positive development for global public health, and countries that do this kind of surveillance should be commended.”
Citing data from Britain, WHO officials said they had no evidence that the variant made people sicker or deadlier than existing strains of Covid-19, although it appeared to spread more easily.
Countries that impose travel restrictions are very cautious when assessing risks, Ryan said, adding: “That’s prudent. But it is also important that everyone recognizes that this happens, these variants occur ”.
WHO officials said coronavirus mutations had so far been much slower than with influenza and that even the new UK variant remained much less communicable than other diseases like mumps.
They said that vaccines developed to combat Covid-19 should also handle the new variants, although controls were underway to ensure this was the case.
“So far, even though we have seen a number of changes, a number of mutations, none have had a significant impact on the susceptibility of the virus to any of the therapies, drugs or vaccines currently in development and one hopes that it will continue to be the case, ”WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan told the briefing.
The WHO said it expects to get more details in a few days or weeks on the potential impact of the highly communicable new strain of coronavirus.. – Reuters
[ad_2]
