China News Service, March 14 According to the website of the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, on March 12, 2021, the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention successfully found B.1.525 Nigeria for the first time in nasopharyngeal swabs from two imported cases of new coronary pneumonia. Mutant strains, virus isolation work is still in progress.
This is after the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention found the B.1.1.7 mutant in a throat swab sample of a confirmed case of new coronary pneumonia imported from the United Kingdom on January 2 and a case of imported South African new coronary pneumonia on January 6. Since the South African mutant strain of 501Y.V2 was isolated from the throat swab, the new coronavirus mutant strain has been found again.
The two cases were asymptomatic infections imported from abroad and were found in closed-loop management. They were reported as asymptomatic infections on February 21 and February 22 respectively. They are still undergoing intensive medical observation in the hospital.
On March 5, the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention received nasopharyngeal swab samples from two cases sent by the Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and immediately began virus isolation and genome sequencing analysis.
On the morning of March 12, 2021, the original sample was sequenced and analyzed, and the results showed that it was subtype B.1.525, a Nigerian mutant strain.
At present, the Nigerian mutant of the new coronavirus has spread in 26 countries around the world.
Research reports have found that Nigerian mutant strains increase the spread of the virus, which can easily lead to the appearance of antibody neutralization and escape, which may lead to re-infection in cases of new coronary pneumonia.
The Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention reminds citizens that they must still adhere to personal hygiene habits, and maintain a four-piece anti-epidemic suit with frequent hand washing, wearing masks, one-meter distance, and frequent ventilation.
The Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention has successively discovered the British mutant strain of the new coronavirus, the South African mutant strain, and the Nigeria mutant strain, all of which were discovered by retrospective genetic sequencing analysis of imported case samples.
These cases can be captured by the sensitive disease surveillance system of Guangdong Province and brought into closed-loop management in a timely manner. The risk of infection in the community is minimal.
The Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention will continue to strengthen monitoring and research on mutant strains of the new coronavirus, do a good job in the traceability of imported cases and monitor the virus mutations, closely follow the evaluation of the immune protection effect of the new coronavirus vaccine on the mutant strain, and further implement various prevention and control measures. Measures to ensure that the relevant mutant strain does not cause subsequent transmission in Guangdong Province.