Covid-19: the British variant is spreading everywhere and is not the only one
It was in the United Kingdom that a variant was detected for the first time, significantly increasing the transmission of Covid-19.
AFP - TOLGA AKMEN
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
The appearance of mutations that give rise to new variants of viruses such as Sars-Cov-2 is a common phenomenon.
But a new variant was identified in the UK on September 20.
And, on December 9, he was responsible for 62% of the contaminations in London.
Since then, he has traveled the planet.
But he is not the only one, because other variants also travel.
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On December 20, the European Center for Disease Surveillance and Control reported a limited number of cases of the British variant, but on the rise in Wales, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and Australia.
And on December 24, this variant was discovered in Shanghai, in the analyzes of a Chinese student returning from the United Kingdom.
Then it was spotted in Tours in France on December 25, on the 26 in Sweden, and last Saturday cases were identified in Madrid in Spain and then in Norway.
This variant of the virus is now known to be present in Canada, the United States, Portugal, Jordan, South Korea, India and Chile as well.
Another mutation in South Africa
In Africa, the British variant has already been found in several countries, but according to the WHO, many new variants have already appeared on the continent.
In South Africa, a different variant was detected on December 20, but with the same mutation as the British one, a mutation that makes the virus more contagious.
This could explain
the second wave of infection in
South Africa.
A carrier of the South African variant was discovered in France, at the Swiss border, Wednesday, December 30.
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Coronavirus
United Kingdom
Health and medicine
South Africa