The variant was discovered last month in three Tanzanian citizens, said Professor Túlio de Oliveira, who leads the team of South African scientists at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, specialists in genomic innovation and sequencing, who carried out the study.
Angola accounts for 22,579 cases of infection with the new coronavirus and 540 deaths associated with covid-19, according to the John Hopkins University global pandemic disease monitoring center.
"When compared with other variants of concern (VOC, acronym in English) and variants of interest (VOI, acronym in English), this is the most divergent," said Túlio de Oliveira, noting that the discovery was reported as being " a new VOI given the constellation of mutations with known or suspected biological significance, specifically resistance to neutralizing antibodies and potentially increased transmissibility ".
"Although we have detected only three cases with this variant, this justifies an urgent investigation, as the country of origin, Tanzania, has an epidemic that is largely undocumented and few public health measures in place to prevent the spread inside and outside the country. country, "explained Túlio de Oliveira to the South African weekly Sunday Tribune, which is published in Durban, on the coast of the country.
South African scientists from the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP) stressed that the new variant "has not yet been reported in any other country", notably in South Africa.
"We have no idea if it is still new or if it was the dominant variant in Tanzania, which is why we urgently need attention, as we really need to have a better understanding of the virus and epidemiology in Tanzania," said Richard Lessells, a researcher. from KRISP, an infectious disease specialist.
"We received additional samples from Angola and we are currently generating and analyzing data," he said.
Tanzanian President John Magufuli, who died last month of a disease associated with covid-19, according to the opposition, denied the existence of the new coronavirus pandemic in the country.
Tanzania, with 509 cases of infection and covid-19 and 21 deaths, stopped reporting new cases of infection and deaths associated with covid-19 in May 2020, according to the global monitoring center for pandemic disease at John Hopkins University.
The study carried out by South African scientists involved the participation of several entities, namely the Ministry of Health of Angola and Africa CDC.
