A Terrible COVID-19 Variant Detected in Nigeria

A Terrible COVID-19 Variant Detected in Nigeria

 

According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the nation has verified a case of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta strain.

iexclusive News Nigeria reports that the FDA said in a statement late Thursday that the variation, also known as lineage B.1.617.2, was discovered in a Nigerian tourist.

 

This was in addition to the regular tests required of all foreign travellers and genome sequencing at the NCDC National Reference Laboratory in Abuja, according to the statement.

 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated the Delta variation as a variant of concern due to its enhanced transmissibility.

 

The variation has been identified in more than 90 countries and is likely to spread.

 

According to the NCDC, the variation has been associated with an increase in cases in countries where it is the predominant strain in circulation.

 

There are ongoing investigations to ascertain the Covid variant’s effect on currently available vaccinations and treatments.

 

The NCDC said in a statement that it has been doing genomic sequencing in collaboration with the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), the African Centre for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), and other labs within the national network.

 

“This enables the identification of potentially harmful variations and the initiation of reaction actions.

 

“All data on Nigerian variations have been made publicly available through GISAID, a worldwide method for exchanging sequencing data. Given the worldwide danger of the Delta variant spreading, positive samples from foreign visitors to Nigeria are routinely sequenced,” according to the release.

 

The centre said that the suggested control methods for limiting the spread of the Delta Covid variant are still being tested, in accordance with current public health advice and current travel and public limitations.

 

It encouraged all Nigerians to adhere strictly to existing public health and social policies.

 

Additionally, the organisation urged governments to make sample collection and testing for COVID-19 available to the general public.