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Another new coronavirus variant found in Nigeria, says Africa CDC

Published 24/12/2020, 14:53
Updated 24/12/2020, 14:54

NAIROBI, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Another new variant of the novel
coronavirus seems to have emerged in Nigeria, the head of
Africa's disease control body said on Thursday, cautioning more
investigation was needed.
The news comes after Britain and South Africa both reported
new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that appear to be more
contagious, leading to new travel restrictions and turmoil in
markets.
"It's a separate lineage from the UK and the South African
lineages," John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told an online news
conference from Addis Ababa.
"The one we are seeing in Nigeria, and this is based on very
limited data yet, has the 501 mutation," Nkengasong added,
referring to the variant termed 501.V2 identified in South
Africa and announced by public health officials there on Dec.
18.
The Nigeria CDC and the African Centre of Excellence for
Genomics of Infectious Diseases in Nigeria will study more
samples, Nkengasong said.
The country's principal COVID-19 investigator has just
released publicly 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, Africa's most populous country with more than 200
million people, has seen fewer coronavirus cases than many
others on the continent.
Total cases crept past 80,000 on Wednesday. Daily recorded
cases exceeded 1,000 for the first time this month.

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