Africa’s top public health official said on Thursday that a new strain of coronavirus had been found in Nigeria, the continent’s most populous country.
According to The Associated Press, John Nkengasong, head of the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told reporters that the new strain had been identified based on two or three genetic sequences, which sparked an emergency meeting of officials this week.
“It’s a separate lineage from the UK and South Africa,” Nkengasong said. “Give us some time … it’s still very early.”
According to a research paper obtained by the PA, the new strain was found in samples from two patients collected in August and October in the Osun state of Nigeria. The news service noted that the COVID-19 variant was different from the one found in the UK
“We have not observed such a rapid increase in lineage in Nigeria and we have no evidence to indicate that the P681H variant contributes to increased virus transmission in Nigeria,” the research paper said. “However, the relative difference in scale of genomic surveillance in Nigeria and the United Kingdom may imply reduced power to detect these changes.”
Nkengasong said it was not yet known if the new coronavirus strain caused more severe symptoms, although he noted that it is transmitted more quickly and has a higher viral load.
The strain found in South Africa and the UK has caused several countries around the world to limit travel. Some lawmakers have expressed support for similar actions to be taken in the United States, according to information the White House would consider requiring UK travelers to test negative for COVID-19.
Africa has seen a further increase in cases, AP notes, with Nkengasong claiming that Nigeria experienced a 52% increase last month, while cases in South Africa increased by 40%.
According to the World Health Organization, Nigeria has so far confirmed nearly 80,000 cases and just over 1,200 coronavirus-related deaths.