The new British strain of the coronavirus, known to be more contagious and deadly is now present in Senegal, Professor Souleymane Mboup announces.
After Gambia, it is Senegal’s turn to nab the British variant of Covid-19. The latter was found in the samples of the second series of sequencing of the second wave, which is currently raging in Senegal, Professor Mboup explains.
The director of the Institute for Health Research, Epidemiological Surveillance and Training (Iressef) was speaking at the daily press briefing from the Ministry of Health and Social Action dedicated to the pandemic situation.
According to Mr. Mboup, the presence of this new strain could explain the increase in Covid-19 cases observed in recent weeks in the country. Consequently, he urged the populations to a “scrupulous” application of individual and collective prevention measures.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of countries and territories where the variant initially spotted in Great Britain is now found is over 50. Similarly, the variant identified in South Africa is also present in 20 countries and territories. But the organization considers this assessment underestimated, because these variants can only be identified by sequencing their genetic code, an analysis that is not possible everywhere.
Besides, the WHO reports that a third “disturbing variant,” detected in the Brazilian Amazon and the discovery of which Japan announced on Sunday, is currently being analyzed and could affect the immune response..
ARD/cgd/fss/abj/APA