PH detects the South African variant; ‘quick containment’ pressed

Another more contagious variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 that can make vaccines less effective has arrived in the Philippines, and health authorities say “rapid containment” measures are needed to stop its spread.

Six cases of the South African variant, named after the country where it was first detected late last year, were detected among the latest batch of 350 sequenced samples of COVID-19-positive cases, the Department of Health (DOH).

Three of the cases are in Pasay, one of which has been recovered. The other two are migrant workers who have returned from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, while the third is still being located. (See related story on page A3).

No community transmission

At the same time, the University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center detected 30 more cases of the highly contagious variant from the United Kingdom (United Kingdom), or B.1.1.7, mainly among Filipinos who recently returned from other countries, which brought the total to 87.

DOH held that there is no basis to conclude that there is widespread community transmission of either variant. A local transmission of the UK variant in Bontoc, Mountain Province, was previously reported.

“Both [the UK and the South Africa variants] they have higher transmissibility, so they can infect more people. But the South African variant has a mutation or component that affects the efficacy of the vaccine, so the South African variant is more closely monitored due to the phenomenon of immune escape, ”said Undersecretary of Health, Maria Rosario Vergeire, at a conference. press.

Immune escape, he said, refers to the ability of the particular variant to affect the process of producing antibodies against the coronavirus, thus reducing the effectiveness of vaccines.

“That is why we want the most rapid containment possible to prevent further escape from the South African variant,” Vergeire said.

The Secretary of Health, Francisco Duque III, also announced the detection of the variant in the country.

“We have to have a complete idea of ​​where it came from. Investigations are underway to establish connections between locally detected variants and Filipinos returning abroad, ”Duque said in an interview.

South African authorities reported the detection of B.1.351 on December 18, just days after UK health officials announced the discovery of the British variant.

As of February 23, cases of the South African variant were reported in 51 countries.

‘Lack of urgency’

Dr. Tony Leachon, a former advisor to the Duterte administration’s coronavirus management team, blamed the spread of the South African variant in the Philippines on a “lack of urgency” to restrict foreign trafficking.

“[I] the alarm bells rang two weeks ago [but] no one listened. Then we open borders to countries with B.1.1.7 and we did not impose [a] travel ban [on countries with the] South Africa [variant]Leachon said in a message to the Inquirer.

In December, the Philippines banned travelers from the UK and then 35 other countries with cases of the UK variant, but the restriction was lifted in February.

“Border control is paramount,” said Dr. Guido David of the independent research group OCTA. Returning Filipino migrant workers and incoming foreigners must undergo stricter screening even after testing negative for the virus on the fourth or fifth day after arriving in the Philippines, he said.

The South African variant not only threatens public health, David said, but it may also disrupt the country’s COVID-19 vaccination program that has just begun.

Leachon said the situation was more “crucial” as the country did not have a steady supply of COVID-19 vaccines.

He said the vaccine made by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech showed positive results against the UK and South African variants, according to foreign news reports.

But what worries him, he said, is the effectiveness of the British-Swedish AstraZeneca vaccine against the South African variant, after the vaccine performed poorly in South Africa.

Leachon noted that most local governments had ordered the AstraZeneca vaccine for their own vaccination programs.

More infections

With more than half a million COVID-19 cases and more than 12,000 deaths, the Philippines has one of the most persistent coronavirus epidemics in Asia.

On Tuesday, the DOH reported 2,067 more coronavirus infections, bringing the number of COVID-19 cases in the country to 580,442 overall.

The DOH said 47 more patients, 30 of them previously reported as recovered, had died, bringing the death toll to 12,369.

He said another 144 patients had recovered, bringing the total number of COVID-19 survivors to 534,463.

That left the country with 33,610 active cases, of which 89.8 percent were mild, 4.8 percent asymptomatic, 0.85 percent moderate, 2.2 percent severe, and 2.3 percent. critical cent.

Vergeire said all three cases of the South African variant tested positive for COVID-19 and the samples were collected between January 27 and February 13.

One of them, a 40-year-old man, has recovered while the other two, a 61-year-old woman and a 39-year-old man, are being administered by the Pasay city government.

Vergeire said contact trackers had found “information that there is a link between two cases of [the] South African variant in Pasay “.

“[W]We are investigating that to verify if there is local transmission in Pasay, ”he said.

‘Underlying factors’

When asked whether the UK and South African variants have been causing the increase in cases in Pasay, Vergeire said “the probability is always there because variants are detected and cases are increasing.”

“We know that the variant can aggravate, accelerate transmission, but there are underlying factors for which there is transmission,” he added, noting complacency when people do not comply with minimum health measures, interzonal movement, mobility of people such as other factors for the increase in COVID-19 cases.

The DOH did not recommend a travel ban to South Africa, but urged stricter adherence to health measures, such as choosing outdoor activities over indoors, physical distancing, wearing masks and face shields, and limiting interactions. 30 minutes.

Local governments, Vergeire said, should ensure that arriving people remain isolated after leaving quarantine or from the hotels where they stayed while they wait to be approved after swab testing. INQ

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For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.

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